


New Sunshine (PG-13 version for younger audiences)

by dissectedfrog



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Domestic Violence, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Love, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Physical Abuse, References to Depression, Sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26310559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dissectedfrog/pseuds/dissectedfrog
Summary: Celeste leaves her old life behind to come to New Sunshine Farm, where she meets people who show her a way of life that she never imagined possible.Rated PG-13 for suicidal thoughts, physical violence (abuse), mild sexual content, language, and mild drug/alcohol/nicotine use. (Modified from original version to fit younger audiences.)Reader discretion is advised.This work is currently being edited and older chapters will have minor edits that may impact the story moving forward. If you are a new reader, please be patient with us as we make these changes. Future chapters will be published once chapter edits are complete.
Relationships: Leah/Female Player (Stardew Valley), Sebastian/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Kudos: 4





	1. Stardew Valley

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning: Domestic/physical violence, verbal abuse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter playlists set the tone for the chapter.** For each chapter, a list of songs will be displayed to listen to while reading (or reflecting on) the chapter to help with visualizing the story.
> 
> _If you are on desktop, please right-click links to open in new tab to not leave the story page. Songs open in Spotify._
> 
> Intro: ["I Can't Live Here Anymore" by Daughter](https://open.spotify.com/track/1S58IfG6kxDTTHfNdcwSpk?si=wwxAYJkDRT6CRHwPHKWwIg)  
> Mid-chapter: ["Home" by Three Days Grace](https://open.spotify.com/track/11RUCSAgpexhJSMmcuO4h2?si=c-3RPbUKRA6UmiY1ONlqzg)  
> End of chapter: ["Between the Bars" by Elliott Smith](https://open.spotify.com/track/3mtIUX9LrCpIUiAAv9SD4a?si=FnkWz3rZSoCll818OMcm7Q)

The warmth of the sun as it approached the earth’s surface soothed her skin, kissing freckles scattered over her face and arms. The last of the weeds have been pulled from the ground, so she relaxed and sat back with her hands on the ground behind her and closed her eyes. 

Birds sang, fluttering from one tree to the next, preparing to tuck into their nests as night would soon be there. She rose to her feet and dusted her hands on her knees, already covered with dirt and debris from her day of work.

She headed south to the strawberry fields, allowing the sweet aroma of the maturing fruit to fill her lungs as her hand brushed along the leaves. The sky was a rich gold haloed by red and violet as it stretched above the field and disappeared behind the dense wall of trees that marked the entrance to the forest far beyond the carpet of red and green before her. 

The serenity of this single moment was why she came here; it was all she longed for, deep down in her heart. She wouldn’t trade this brief peace for anything in the world. 

The breeze picked up just as nightfall began to slowly creep toward the horizon. She turned and hiked back to her cabin, smiling to herself while lost with her own thoughts about how much had changed for the better in the last year and how much she still had left to accomplish. 

Reaching her porch, she lifted from her reverie and became aware that the darkness had gathered rapidly around her and the only light that remained was from the stars overhead. Everything had gone eerily silent; not a single cricket chirped, no bats screeched behind her, and she could not even feel the breeze that had comforted her a minute ago. She felt nothing at all but the grip of an unnatural stillness, as if everything collectively held its breath around her.

No, that isn’t entirely true. She did have the distinct feeling she was being _watched_. Goosebumps prickled up her arms and she felt a shiver rush down her spine. As she turned to look over the field again, she noticed that it was completely drained of its vibrant color; not just shrouded by the unfolding dark, but as black and white as a scene pulled from an old film. 

A gasp caught in her throat as a firm hand suddenly gripped her shoulder. She turned her head forward again toward the porch, only to be met with a pair of glinting eyes, sharp with malice. She felt the air leaves her lungs involuntarily, as if his touch had winded her and emptied her of everything that gave her life. His anger was seething and infectious. The very air seemed darker around his body, as if a void she may fall into if she stepped any nearer, or a seeping poison that bled into the soil he stood on. The fields behind her began to wither and decay, leaving behind black skeletons in their wake; a cemetery for her dreams, crushed beneath the weight of his clutching hand which had not budged. Now it was the boneyard of her despair.

He opened his mouth wide, as if preparing to swallow her entirely. The teeth that emerged were sharp and venomous. He was speaking, or trying to, but the words were muffled and incomprehensible. They were blaring louder and louder with each passing second until she had to cover her ears and shut her eyes tight. She tried to scream, for a fleeting moment scratching the surface of the shriek which now pounded into her eardrums relentlessly, but it fell like a small drop in a deep well and dissipated.

Tears began to fall as the cacophony became unbearable, breaking against her like tidal waves, threatening to drown her. Her own open mouth emanated only silence, though she was sure she was still screaming, or perhaps that was her heart pounding on her chest like a door it desperately needed to open to be free. She could no longer see when she tried to open her eyes.

Now, both mute and blind, she was being swallowed by the dark. 

**_BZZZZZZ. BZZZZZZ. BZZZZZZ._ **

There it was. . .

The alarm snapped Celeste awake. She sat up quickly, realizing she was drenched in a cold sweat. Heavily disoriented, she stared at her hand momentarily as she aligned again with reality. The blinding light of the sun peering through her window caused a dull ache behind her eyes— the onset of another migraine. She sluggishly reached her hand out to snooze the alarm which continued blaring urgently, banging inside of her head like a drum. Reaching out too far and but just missing the button, she slipped out of bed onto the floor with a soft thud.

 _Great, another Thursday_ , she thought to herself as she used the bed to prop herself up lazily.

It hadn't always been this difficult waking up, but with the recent sleepless nights plagued by nightmares and his arguments with her becoming increasingly physical, she was exhausted and sore no matter how long she stayed in bed.

Celeste glared with agitation at her still screaming alarm she’d failed to silence. 7:04 AM. _Great, that means he already left for the day._ He had an appointment on the other side of town this morning, and so she knew he had to leave early to be there on time. He was at least punctual if not anything else that was good.

She reached up to turn the clock off and paused there for a moment where she sat, just inhaling the morning air and feeling her own heart beating calmly. Then she stood, stretching her arms over her head to wake up. Every ache from the night before awoke with her, as she suddenly felt tenderness on parts of her body she didn’t notice a moment ago. 

She didn’t have much time before she would be late for work.

As she looked in the mirror, she saw the scratches from the night before: along her torso, around her neck, and some on her face just under her jaw. She felt the bruises before they appeared. _Long sleeves again_ , she thought while reaching for her worn turtleneck. The air was cool enough today that nobody would tease her for it or ask questions. She made sure to use extra concealer and blend well to hide anything still visible, and set it with spray so touch ups would be minimal during the day.

She hurriedly prepared some toast with jam and coffee-to-go before she was out the door by 7:28 AM, just enough time to catch the 7:30 bus across the street. Three buses later and she made it to work right on time, just as she always did everyday. Even when he didn’t have somewhere to be in the morning, he would always get preferential use of the car. Yet another thing in her life he controlled, which left her with the bus route twice a day.

She walked down the gray and narrow hallway framed by cubicles and the clacking of keyboards and ringing phones as it struck 8 o'clock. The atmosphere was cold and uninviting, which wasn’t at all helped by the dove grey paint they chose for the walls which she detested. As she found her station, she hastily slumped into the chair which was barely adequately cushioned and hurt her back. She was fatigued and felt more drained than usual. The bags under her eyes felt like weights pulling her down.

She had been stared at her computer for a while, not realizing time was passing by. She had not begun typing, and her phone was ringing but she didn't answer. The sound of it was drowned amongst the sea of other phones ringing, the scripted talking, the hammering of the receiver back on its base with each hang up. It bubbled over her cubicle wall and felt like it may fill her lungs with the noise and drown her too. She wasn't usually that productive - _who could be in a job like this?_ \- but today everything felt more pointless than ever. She was feeling the burden of modern life in every facet of her existence; she neither wanted to be at work, nor escape it by being home.

A loud bell rang and it was her lunch break. The hunger pangs grew loudly, as she only had a slice of bread for breakfast with her black coffee, but she had to ignore them. She didn't pack herself a lunch and did not have enough time to run to the nearest fast food place and grab a meal.

Her coworkers were gathered in groups, loudly chatting and seemingly enjoying themselves. Brad stood by the water cooler, very obviously flirting with Jan as he did every…single…day. Robert and Melissa seated in the lounge table, enjoying their microwaved leftovers. These were her "office buddies" as she mentally called them, but they only existed as such because they worked in the cubicles closest to hers. She had no genuine interest in their affairs and they didn’t know a bit of truth about her life.

"Hey Celeste, what're you having today?" Melissa said as she looked up in between bites. Timidly, Celeste opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't bring herself to say that she didn't have anything packed. She didn’t have the energy or time after last night. "I'm not feeling all that hungry today. Don't worry,” she lied.

She made her way to the outside of the building, where a few of her coworkers were enjoying cigarettes, a habit she tried so hard not to pick up but found difficult to resist. Someone she hadn't seen working there before, who looked especially tired, offered her one, to which she bashfully accepted. He lit it for her as she stood against the wall, her foot bent and leaving a trail of mud on the wall. The rain hadn't stopped, but they were in a covered area so only the sound and smell reached them.

"…it's just like spring…."

She was so lost in her thoughts, replaying the night before, to even realize the older man was talking to her. Between drags, she looked up at him with her grayish green eyes in confusion, and he repeated himself, "The rain's coming down hard. It's not quite here yet, but it's just like spring."

"Mm," she softly said, taking another puff. The bell rang once again, indicating lunch break was over, and everyone hurried to their desks. Celeste sulked along and thought to herself, _I hope that can hold me over._

* * *

It took 4 buses to get home, and the rain still had not stopped. Since she had forgotten her umbrella in her cubicle drawer, she was soaked by the time she got to her apartment. She walked in and was relieved to see that Dallas wasn't home yet. She put the tea kettle to boil and changed out of her wet work clothes, hopping in for a quick shower, and rushing out when she heard the incessant whistling. She prepared herself a piping hot cup of oolong tea and relaxed onto her couch. She drifted into a daydream, once again recalling the events from the night before. Dallas had always been verbally aggressive, but these last few fights were different. She felt like she saw the wicked spirit growing in his eyes. She kept replaying the flashback of the emptiness she saw on his face until her hunger pangs returned, bringing her to the present, and she made way to the barren kitchen. She prepared a bowl of cereal and quickly devoured it before brushing her teeth and heading to bed.

11:23 PM. She couldn't sleep. Dallas still wasn't home and she knew what this meant. He was drinking and probably went home with someone else. She tried to stay awake…but….quickly….she drifted off into a slumber.

* * *

Around 4 AM she heard the door shut, and a man stumble across the apartment and into the dark bedroom. She slowly opened her eyes, unsure of whether she should act like she wasn't woken up by this commotion.

It was Dallas, and he was piss drunk. Which was never a good sign, because when he drank is when he usually started to get physically and verbally aggressive with Celeste. She shuddered in the blankets as he flopped on the bed, without a care in the world as to whether he would wake her or not. She apprehensively acknowledged his entrance.

"Dallas, are you just getting home?"

"Fuck off," he responded in a hostile tone.

She could let this get to her, but she was used to this type of response. Responding any further would only make him angrier, and putting up with this was better than dealing with the alternative.

Quickly, he fell asleep, snoring loudly in his drunken gurgle.

Celeste struggled to return back to sleep until the wee hours of the morning when the sun just began to brush the horizon. 

* * *

The next morning, Dallas was awake early, hungover. He was preparing himself a cup of coffee, and because of his guilt, he made some pancakes for Celeste.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said as he approached her, ready to peck her on the lips.

She was exhausted and confused, wondering if his guilt was what caused him to be bright this morning. Usually, he only showed affection when trying to drown his guilt. This followed behaviors of late night drinking and something she hated to admit that he did: it was no secret that he was cheating on her. The few times she has brought it up is what resulted in nights like Wednesday, where she had marks left to show for it. 

She finally found the words to respond, after being despondently quiet for what seemed like a long time. "I'm going to be late. Thanks. I'll see you tonight."

She quickly left outside the front door before he had a chance to respond. She nearly ran to the bus stop, barely making it on time to catch the bus.

 _At least it's not raining today_ , she thought to herself, the sky being brighter and sunnier than it had been in days.

When she got to work, it was back to the same mundane tasks. Brad flirting with Jan by the water cooler during lunch, Robert and Melissa both enjoying their leftovers from the night before. She made her way outside again as she had the day before to see the same older man smoking a cigarette. Without making eye contact, she stood beside him and put her foot up against the wall, leaning her back onto the rough concrete. He offered her a cigarette once again, and with a long sigh she responded, "I'm trying to quit," as she grabbed it from his hand. He lit the cigarette for her and she took one long and hot breath, feeling the nicotine burn her tongue, suddenly feeling less tense.

"I don't know why someone like you is in a dead end job like this," she finally heard him say after a long silence.

Her cigarette was already burned down to the filter, and she tossed it on the ground and stepped on it, putting her foot back up against the wall afterwards.

“I know this emptiness just isn't for you," he continued.

Her eyes felt heavy as she felt them welling up. _Don't cry, dammit! Not in front of a stranger. Don't be weak!_

"I might not know a lot… but I know that you're destined for more."

Suddenly, the bell rang to indicate that lunch was over.

"Well, enough of that sappy shit. Gotta get back to my station."

He quickly glanced at her greyish eyes, his were dark but warm.

"You gotta do what's right for you, kid."

And just like that, he went inside. She picked up her cigarette, feeling guilty for just leaving it on the ground earlier, throwing it in the outdoor ashtray and made her way back into the cold, grey building.

As she walked towards her cubicle, she looked at everyone else around her working, looking for the man she felt acquainted with. He was nowhere to be seen. And although this confused her, she didn't dwell on it and sat at her desk, flooded with phone calls.

One particularly upsetting phone call came in. It was Dallas. He worked from home so he was always there, unless he was out getting drunk or into someone else's pants. The background noise was of a bar. Happy Hour didn't yet start, as it was only 4:30, but he was always early to these things. She shuddered. She knew what he had planned for today, once again. 

"D-Don't wait up for me tonight, beautiful." He quickly clicked the phone and she heard the disconnected tone. _He's so shameless! He doesn't even care that I know…that I hurt…_

She opened her drawer to pull out a tissue as her eyes grew heavy and her nose dripped. After fumbling in the drawer for a little, she found the letter. The one she had forgotten about that her grandfather gave to her on her birthday last year. He died the following day, but he told her to be patient… to wait until she felt crushed by the burden of modern life to open it. Today, she felt _crushed_. Her partner of 6 years was shameless in his infidelities and abuse and she was stuck in a dead end job. What more did she have to lose?

She carefully opened the letter, sealed by purple wax.

Inside read the following:

_Dear Celeste,_

_If you are reading this, you must be in dire need of a change._

_The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life…real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong._

_I've enclosed the deed to that place…my pride and joy: New Sunshine Farm. It's located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It's the perfect place to start your new life._

_This was my most precious gift of all, and now it's yours. I know you'll honor the family name, my dear. Good luck._

_Love, Grandpa._

_P.S. Say hello to my friend Lewis for me._

Her ears burned. Why did she wait so long to open this? She knows the reason: she forgot about it and was so stricken by the grief of her grandfather passing that it was the last thing on her mind.

She stood up from her desk and walked out. The intercom blaring her name and demanding that she report back to her desk. She turned around and flicked off the cameras, as she rushed out the doors, feeling the warmth of the sun in what felt like a new sunshine.

* * *

She packed very lightly, and wanted to make sure she was gone before Dallas came home drunk that night. She took off her engagement ring and left it on the kitchen table. Looking at the dark apartment, she shut the door and locked it. After letting out a deep sigh, she made her way to the bus stop and boarded the 7 o'clock bus, where she would have to catch a few others until her long distance trip to Stardew Valley. But she was happy, because she felt like this was the escape that she desperately needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


	2. Checklist

She arrived in Zuzu City early the next morning, right as the sun started to come up the horizon. The commute was long and uncomfortable; traveling in the overnight bus was not how she wanted to spend her night, sitting in a seat that was lumpy and worn and had a pungent smell. She looked at her phone: she had 9% battery left, not a single text message, not a single call. Dallas probably got home so late and so drunk that he didn't realize she was not there. Once the bus stopped, she walked to the nearest C-Mobile story, sluggish but determined.

"Hi, I'm here to get a new phone number."

* * *

It took another hour by bus to travel from Zuzu City to Stardew Valley. When the bus pulled into town, she readily hopped off, eager to get some fresh air as she finally finished her long travels. Celeste felt exhausted, but her phone had died on the way, so she was able to get some rest on the bus without being distracted. Her tiredness had brought on some motion sickness and she couldn’t wait to just stretch out her legs and get the blood pumping again. 

Right as she stepped onto the soil of what will soon be her new _home,_ she was greeted by a middle-aged woman with hair the color of fire and an older man with a mustache. _Had they been expecting her?_

The freckled redhead cheerfully welcomed her, much to her astonishment.

"Hiya! I'm Robin! I think you're who we've been expecting."

Celeste looked behind her to see if anyone else stepped off the bus and pointed to herself in puzzlement. "Me? Uh…"

The older man spoke up in an attempt to dismantle her uncertainty.

"Noah told us a year ago to expect you. We rarely get newcomers, and nobody has moved to this town in the last few years… The bus station called me to ask if we can allow a special stop..."

 _Noah…? He must be…_ "Lewis!?"

"Yes, and you must be _Celeste_ ," he buoyantly responded. "It's a pleasure meeting you. This is Robin, the local carpenter,” he said as he pointed in her direction before walking away from Celeste. “We prepared the cabin in your anticipation. Follow us this way."

Lewis and Robin lead Celeste down a bumpy path towards her grandfather's abandoned farm. There were twigs and weeds scattered everywhere, but otherwise it seemed beautiful. A small cabin was at the northeast end of the farm, some shingles falling off the roof and weather wear being evident on the paneling. 

"It's a fixer upper, definitely a work-in-progress. Would you like to see the inside?" Robin excitedly spoke, a faint blush streaked across her cheeks.

Inside the cabin, there was a bed frame with a beaten-up full-size mattress, a small table and chair, and an outdated television set. There was also a brick fireplace on the back corner, still filled with wood ash that was likely older than Celeste herself. Robin must’ve seen her staring at the fireplace because she quickly said to her, "It's safe to use! It should be able to keep you warm on the colder days while we work on getting heating and cooling set up in this place." Celeste was overwhelmed, but feeling ecstatic and hopeful. She was glad to be away from what she left behind, ready to start a new life.

* * *

She used the rest of the weekend to settle into her place and unpack. She didn't bring much, but wouldn't begin to feel at home until she organized what she brought. She tidied up as best as she could, removing the ashes from the fireplace and wiping away a lot of the cobwebs that formed and dust that settled throughout the years. After spending hours cleaning the cabin, she laid down on the bed just to rest a little bit. She had plans to explore Pelican Town… but ended up falling asleep instead. And not waking up until the weekend was over... _She really was tired._

Before Lewis left on Saturday afternoon, he gave her a list of names of townsfolk that he expected her to make an effort to meet. She glanced at the rather short list. _Wow, this town is really small. Seems like it'll be easy to do._

She woke up early on Monday morning with that task in mind, finally feeling rested and ready to tackle _anything._ She didn't have running water in her cabin, but she needed to get clean _somehow_ . Laying there in bed, she remembered the lake she saw on Saturday afternoon when receiving the brief farm tour from Lewis and Robin. She grabbed some things before she went outside and looked around, assessing the level of privacy she’d have. Long grass and fallen trees surrounded her in the field, and nobody was around for miles, or so it seemed. She quickly stripped from her clothes and jumped into the ice-cold water. Even though spring was in bloom, winter wasn't far enough away to warm up the lake, and she screamed as she hit the water. It was _much_ colder than she expected, and it forced the air out of her lungs, quickly numbing her skin from the intensity of the pain.

She moved towards the shallow edge of the lake, grabbing her bar of soap from her pile to rub through her body and hair, just before she hastily rinsed herself in the surrounding water. She exited the water and grabbed onto the towel she left on the tree stump by the lake, drying herself before she walked into the cabin, towel wrapped around her body, so she could get dressed. _Maybe I should visit Robin and ask her to install running water and a bathroom for me,_ she thought to herself, knowing that this wasn’t something she could see herself doing for very long.

So, her first task for the day, before doing what Lewis suggested, was to head up north towards the mountain and find Robin's home. Lewis had provided her with a detailed map when he left her the list of names, labeling the home for each of the townspeople to make it simpler for Celeste to make her way through town.

 _Robin's home must be this way_ , she said to herself, staring closely at the map, shifting it a few times in her hands, trying to find the proper alignment based on the landmarks around her. _And maybe the others will be around, too…that's three people to check off the list at this address._

When she finally got to Robin’s house, a 20-minute walk northeast, she knocked loudly, hearing a “come inside!” before uncertainly pushing the door and walking inside. She saw the pale redhead standing behind a desk as she excitedly greeted her when she walked through the heavy door.

"Have a nice walk?" Robin inquired, thrilled to have the new farmer visit her.

"Uh, hi Robin. I came by to speak with you because I noticed the cabin doesn't have any running water and I'm wondering…if it wouldn't be too much….this is all I have," Celeste said, showing Robin the crumbled bills she had in her hand, nearly shaking as she held them out towards the carpenter.

Robin slammed her hands on her desk, startling Celeste, as she exclaimed, "Oh! It's not a problem! I would've installed some plumbing, but I wasn't sure when you'd arrive, and I didn't want it to rust over.” She softened her voice, wanting to reassure Celeste. “I can get started tomorrow, and don't worry about the money. This will be my welcoming gift to you."

Celeste gazed at Robin with appreciative eyes, stirred when Demetrius shuffled into the room, looking down at glass test tubes he was holding in his hands. His skin was the color of milk chocolate and he was wearing a white lab coat.

"Honey, this is Celeste! She just moved into town this weekend!" Robin carried the same level of enthusiasm as she did when she first met her.

He swiftly looked towards Celeste, smiling widely as he said, "Greetings! I'm Demetrius, local scientist and father! Nice to meet you!"

She cracked a small smile as he continued, almost breathlessly.

"I'm studying the local plants and animals from my home laboratory. Have you met my daughter Maru? Robin told us you were coming and she’s very interested to meet you."

Celeste lit up, remembering her checklist, and said, "No, I haven't yet, but I'd love to meet her!"

Maru, overhearing her name from across the house, walked into the foyer, and upon noticing Celeste, excitably spoke. "Oh! Aren't you the one who just moved in? I'm Maru. I've been looking forward to meeting you!"

Maru unleashed a big smile, causing Celeste to blush. She wasn't expecting such a _warm_ welcome. Maru continued, just as eagerly as her father had, "You know, with a small town like this, a new face can really alter the community dynamic. _It's exciting!_ "

Robin, who was gathering supplies behind her desk in preparation of starting Celeste's plumbing, turned back to the new farmer and said, "Have you met everyone in town yet? That sounds exhausting."

"No, not yet," Celeste frankly replied, almost feeling ashamed for sleeping through the entire weekend. "This is my first stop of the day. I'm yet to meet anybody else."

"Oh!" Robin let out in surprise, rushing as she continued to speak. "Well, you must meet my son, Sebastian! He should be in his room downstairs in the basement! Here, let me take you!" Robin pulled Celeste by the hand, and just like that, she was leading her down towards Sebastian's room.

The first thing she noticed was the darkness of his room. It was in the basement, after all, so there was very little natural light coming in - only from a tiny window above his bed that was level with the ground outside. In addition to that, he had dark walls, dark bedding, and some band posters up on his wall. The room was cold, and she began to feel goosebumps form on her arms. As she scanned his room, she finally noticed him, sitting at his computer, typing away quickly as if he didn't just notice the tall redhead walk into his room with a complete stranger. Once Celeste caught a glimpse of him, she couldn’t break her gaze: he was dressed in black from head to toe, a hoodie keeping him warm in his icebox lair. His hair was dyed black and his fringe was long and pushed to the side, exposing his eyes to the light from the computer screen. His skin was pale like Robin's, so he couldn't have been Demetrius's son. He was thin, but his clothes hugged his skin snuggly, something Celeste couldn't just ignore as she scanned him up and down. _Would Robin notice she was staring at him, eyes wide in interest?_

Seeing that he didn't pay attention to them walking in, Robin cleared her throat and, with a flat face, said, "Sebby, we have a visitor."

His face transformed into a glare as he quickly looked at Robin, upset that she would call him this in front of someone else. He then shifted his gaze to Celeste, his dark brown eyes warming up as his face softened when he looked at her. 

"Oh. You just moved in right? Cool."

 _That was it._ He turned his face back to look at his computer screen, typing away as if he was unbothered by her presence. He didn't seem interested, and Celeste felt foolish as she stood there, waiting for more to be said.

Robin tried to continue the conversation, positing, "Celeste will be joining us for dinner tonight."

Noticing that she didn't ask her before the invite, Robin turned to Celeste and sheepishly said, "I hope you don't mind. We wanted to show our welcome to you in this town."

Celeste gave her a smile to indicate that she accepted the offer, and Robin walked back up the stairs, leaving the two of them alone in his room. Once she closed the door behind her, Sebastian stopped typing to turn to Celeste, shifting his entire body her way as he spoke again.

"Out of all the places you could live, you chose Pelican town?" He lifted his eyebrow, curiously waiting for her response.

Celeste felt offended. _Who was he to judge? He was wasting this beautiful day sitting behind a blaring computer screen in the dark._

"My grandfather left me his farm," she finally spoke up with a crack in her voice, furrowing her brows as her eyes looked into his. Sebastian kept his gaze in her eyes, softening his face once again as the edge of his mouth lifted into a small grin. Celeste looked away and blushed, her legs feeling like jelly from the intensity of his stare. He turned back to his computer screen, resuming his typing. She took that as a sign that the conversation was over, walking away without another word.

Upon making her way upstairs to the ground level, she told Robin that she was going to explore Pelican Town and meet some more of the townspeople as Lewis asked her to.

On her way out, Robin said, "Dinner is at 8! You can come early and shower here if you'd like. I know it's not fun having no internal plumbing."

Celeste turned to her and smiled before leaving the front door, venturing south to Pelican Town square.

* * *

It took her nearly 30 minutes to walk to the center of town, where she noticed Pierre's General Store at the north side of the town square. She thought that maybe it would be a good idea to browse the store and see if anybody was inside, checking more people off of her list. As she opened the front door, she was greeted by a man with auburn hair behind a counter.

"Hey, it's Ms. Celeste, the new farmer!” She began to feel exposed, people knowing her name before she knew theirs, but to her relief, he continued without prompting. “I'm Pierre, owner of the local general store. Take a look around and see what you like." He flashed her a smile, waving his arm across the air to signal her to freely browse and satisfy her curiosity.

As she was mindlessly wandering through the store, she bumped into a pale young woman in her early 20's, hair as purple as the deepest amethyst. Her eyes were a bright blue and her features were soft, baring a unique beauty.

"Oh, that's right… I heard someone new was moving onto that old farm,” the young woman said, breaking the brief silence that existed between them. “It's kind of a shame, really. I always enjoyed exploring those overgrown fields by myself."

Taken aback by what she said, Celeste responded, "Uh, hi.. I'm Celeste. Nice to meet you?," the last coming out with a question.

The gal chuckled. "I don't mean it in a bad way. I'm Abigail. Maybe I'll see you around town," she assured her while winking, before making her way towards the door and leaving the store.

Celeste stood there, staring as she left, letting out a sigh before continuing her journey to check everybody off of the list.

* * *

It was nearly 7 o'clock and Celeste had spent the good chunk of the day trying to meet all of the townspeople. It was grueling, but one by one, she checked everybody off her list.

_Caroline, the green haired lady who's married to Pierre._

_Leah, the friendly artist with auburn hair who lives down by Marnie's ranch._

_George, the grumpy old man who was confined to a wheelchair, and his extremely friendly wife Evelyn, as well as Alex, their athletic grandson._

_Gus, the chubby friendly face who owned the town saloon._

_Jodi, the passive aggressive, yet seemingly nice lady who was mother to Vincent and Sam. Sam was close to Celeste's age, but Vincent was much younger. Celeste was curious about the stark age difference._

_Emily, the extremely nice and outgoing bartender at Gus's saloon. Celeste saw herself possibly becoming friends with Emily. Her sister, Hayley on the other hand… she wasn't very friendly, and after introducing herself to her, Hayley responded with, "_ Hmm… if it weren't for those horrendous clothes you might actually be pretty… Actually, nevermind _." Who says that to somebody they just meet?!_

_Penny, the shy redhead who lived in the trailer with her single mother, Pam._

_Harvey, the local doctor who seemed friendly enough._

_Clint, the local blacksmith, who was quite socially awkward, but meant no harm._

_Elliott, the dreamy seaside poet, whose hair was longer than Celeste's._

_Willy, the fisherman with his seaside shop. He was nice enough to hand Celeste a fishing pole of her own._

_Marnie and Jas, those two lived on the farm just south of New Sunshine Farm. Marnie sold supplies and animals and Celeste made a mental note about getting friendly with her._

_And Linus, the backwoodsman free spirit, who lived in a tent just north of Robin's home._

There's one more person on this list….. Celeste looked closely to see who she didn't check off. Shane. _It shows that he lives with Marnie, but he wasn't there when I visited earlier._ But she didn't have time. It was already too close to dinnertime and she still needed to run to her cabin to grab some soap and fresh clothes to shower at Robin's.

* * *

A thick fog started to develop as Celeste made her way back to Robin's home. She knocked on the door, and the tall redhead opened with a large grin.

"Hi Robin, I brought my stuff…,” she shyly said, holding up a bag with her towel and fresh clothes. At first Robin looked at her confused, and then said, "Oh! Right! Let me show you which way to go!," leading Celeste to her master bathroom. "Use whatever you need. I'll be in the kitchen cooking."

The master bathroom was plain, but elegant, with wooden fixtures all throughout. It had a large window that showed the beauty of the mountainside forest, just as the sun began to set. Celeste quickly started to undress and turn on the water to the hottest setting. _A hot shower…_ it had been 3 days and she was filling up with excitement as the bathroom filled up with steam.

She looked in the mirror at her naked body, staring at the marks on her skin that began to fade away. A yellowish bruise was on her ribcage just under her left breast and the scratch marks on her neck have now disappeared. She let out a sigh of relief and hopped into the shower, washing away all sorrow she held from her past.

* * *

After she showered, Celeste quickly towel dried her hair and walked into the kitchen where Robin was beginning to cook. Celeste saw the counter sprawled with different kinds of beans and vegetables. Robin looked at her with a warm smile and kindly said, "I'm making a spicy bean hot pot. It's Demetrius's favorite. I don't cook it as well as he does, but it really is tasty. I do hope you’ll like it."

Without question, Celeste grabbed some carrots and began cutting, her long dark brown hair still slightly damp, but pulled behind her ears.

Sebastian walked in after his smoke break to see Celeste standing in his family kitchen, smiling as she cut the veggies. She appeared a lot happier than when they first met earlier that day, and her face emitted a radiant glow from the elation she expressed. He looked at her from a distance, carefully examining her form. She was wearing black leggings and a long plaid shirt that fit her like a dress. Her thick, dark brown hair was starting to get wavy in the humidity, and her medium skin donned a few freckles around her nose and under her eyes. She stood in the center of the kitchen at the island, peacefully cutting some onion to be sautéed as Robin started the gas stove. Feeling a pair of eyes on her, she looked up towards him, catching his gaze before he quickly turned his head, pretending to act as if he had just walked into the room.

"Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes, Sebby. Go call Maru and Demetrius," Robin said with lightness in her voice.

Sebastian lightly groaned and headed outside to look for his half-sister and stepfather, looking down at the ground as he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets while trudging along.

During dinner, they all sat at the table, Sebastian sitting opposite to Celeste, Maru sitting to her left, and Demetrius and Robin sitting to her right.

"Before we begin eating, let us say grace," Robin said, taking everyone by surprise. Celeste wasn't usually religious and was surprised that a family where half were scientists would say grace before dinner; however, Maru, Demetrius, and Sebastian had similar looks of shock to their face, indicating that this might not be a common occurrence. However, to be polite, Celeste followed Robin’s lead, kneeling her head down to show her gratefulness.

_Yoba, praise You for the nourishment You have provided us. Thank You for meeting our physical needs of hunger and thirst. Bless this food to fuel our bodies to move forward and we thank You for this early springtime abundance. Blessed be._

Celeste couldn't remember the last time she sat to have a warm meal with a group of kind people, let alone saying a prayer before beginning to eat. She took a bite of the bean hot pot and was immediately in love, devouring the entire bowl and bashfully asking for seconds. Robin made some rice pudding the night before, which they all had for dessert. Celeste ate, and ate, and ate, until she felt like she couldn’t eat anymore! 

By 10 o'clock, she started to feel worn out and suggested that she go home for the evening. She thanked Robin for the wonderful meal and time she got to spend with her family and made her way towards her farm.

The night was dark in Stardew Valley. There weren't streetlights like she was accustomed to in the city, and she heard owls loudly hooting from nearby trees as she tread along her path. Some animal stirs frightened her along the way and she nearly stumbled and fell a few times walking in the dark towards her cabin. She got home just after 10:30. _Tomorrow, Robin begins working on my plumbing,_ she thought to herself with glee. After undressing, she crawled into the bed and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, she took the bus back home, guilt flooding her emotions. How could she have done this to Dallas? After all they've been through together? The loss, the future they planned for together, the memories. _Six years isn't something easy to just forget._

He was slightly older than her, maybe a little too old for her when they got together. She was 20 and he was nearly 30, but he frequently reminded her that age was just a number and that she was always _mature_ for her age. She met him when she was 19 and enrolled in the local college. He was teaching some classes and she found herself enrolling in a class of his, only to walk away with a hidden relationship.

Once the school found out, he had to teach the rest of the semester from home, and the remainder of his career consisted of teaching online classes, to which he didn't really mind. Two years into their relationship, as Celeste was starting her final year, he proposed to her and asked her to move in with him. She had been living with him ever since, but it got rocky quickly into their cohabitation.

After his mother died, she spent a lot of her time trying to console him and had to pick up extra shifts to make ends meet, dropping out her final semester of college. She found a job at Joja Mart Corporation, answering phone calls for dissatisfied customers. It wasn't her life dream, but it paid the bills.

She leapt out of the bus and ran to the apartment door; to her surprise, it was left unlocked, and she quickly opened it without any hesitation. Inside, she saw Dallas with another woman, having no shame in his betrayal.

As she timorously approached the bed, Celeste witnessed it all. Dallas was with best friend _(one of the people she had found him cheating with),_ and right as she got near, the two of them simultaneously turned to look at Celeste, smiling widely as if she were not present. He began laughing as he saw the distress in Celeste’s face.

"You were never as pretty as her anyways, Cel.” His eyes darkened as his mouth picked up in a snarl. _“And you never were as good."_

She felt herself spinning as she rushed while stumbling to the door. The ground fell before her, showing the edge of a cliff. _If I jump right now, end it all, it will surely be less painful than to continue_ …

So, she took one step forward…..

….and suddenly….

…..

…she jolted awake.

She didn't expect to fall into a slumber that quickly. She didn't expect to start dreaming that quickly either. She felt herself drenched in a cold sweat, feeling too uncomfortable to attempt to continue sleeping.

She looked at her phone. 5:56 AM. _There's no use in trying to continue to sleep now_. She got up and got herself ready for the day, shortly before her alarm began screaming at her to get up.

What was she going to do today? Maybe chop some wood, clear out the land in the farm from debris, plant the parsnip seeds that Lewis kindly gave her on her first day here. She wouldn't want him to ask and find out that she still hadn't placed them in the ground. But how would she plant them? She loved the outdoors but wasn't sure if she actually had a green thumb, and she always managed to kill the potted plants she tried keeping around the apartment, no matter how low maintenance they were.

She spent the first hour in the morning, browsing the internet, finding as much information as she can to help her begin on her farm. The service was choppy where she stayed, so it took longer than usual for her to find the answers she was looking for. She put on her mother’s painter's overalls, flecks of acrylic all over them, and made her way outside. After spending the entire morning clearing the farm, she put the seeds into the ground and watered them. She felt like she needed a break, so she sat down on the ground, let out a sigh, and immediately dropped to her back.

Just as a cloud covered the sun and she briefly closed her eyes for some rest, Robin called from the distance. "Hey farmer! I came to get started on your plumbing!"

Celeste propped herself back up and jumped into the air, granting Robin permission inside. Robin expeditiously began working as the hunger pangs just started to hit Celeste. It was definitely time for her to find a meal, so she made her way into town and towards Gus's saloon.

The saloon was empty at this time in the day, with only Gus behind the counter, cleaning and storing glasses from the night before. Celeste ordered a salad and took her time eating, observing the atmosphere. She had avoided coming to the saloon yesterday, not feeling comfortable in environments that served alcohol. _But I guess it's not that bad, this early in the day. No one was drinking…,_ she thought to herself.

Gus was humming as he worked when Celeste looked up at him and said, "Gus... Lewis asked me to say hello to everybody in this town…"

"Mm."

"But I haven't been able to find one person…. Shane?"

Gus put his glass down and the smile on his face faded as he looked at Celeste. "What's wrong?," she asked, feeling a pull at her heart. In a serious tone, he responded, "He will probably be here after his shift. Around 5:30, like… clockwork."

"Oh?"

"You can't miss him. He's usually here all night long. He's a regular. I'd be out of business if it weren't for him," Gus jokingly ended.

Celeste didn't take that as a good sign. _What could he be doing in a saloon every single night after work?_ This was something she tried to avoid, as to not be reminded of Dallas. She didn't trust people when they were drunk. Maybe she could catch him before he started his routine and leave before he had his first glass. She would never have to see him again after that. _Right?_

Celeste thanked Gus for the meal, leaving a tip, and walked out the saloon. She quickly stopped at Pierre's to buy some seeds before she headed back to her farm to see Robin still working, several hours later.

"Hey Celeste. So… I didn't get as much done today as I had hoped. It looks like it may take a week for me to finish this. But in the meantime, please feel free to come to my home and get yourself clean! I really don't want you to worry too much about imposing."

Celeste thanked her for her work and said goodbye as she left for the night. She planned to head to Robin's early tomorrow after she did some gardening to shower before she would explore the rest of Pelican Town. She had met most of the town, but still needed to find Shane. She had a plan.

But a week without her own internal plumbing? Damn.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Outtake: _Why must everyone in Pelican Town be so hot?_ Celeste thought to herself...


	3. Shane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter playlists set the tone for the chapter.** For each chapter, a list of songs will be displayed to listen to while reading (or reflecting on) the chapter to help with visualizing the story.
> 
> _If you are on desktop, please right-click links to open in new tab to not leave the story page. Songs open in Spotify._
> 
> End of chapter: ["Sweet Tooth" by Cavetown](https://open.spotify.com/track/6TCmU4U7Ooqep96bnYx5lH?si=2USo8hZlQYazYriPiBWWmA)

  
Celeste got up early as usual and went outside to begin planting and watering her new seeds before the sun got too harsh. Mid-morning, she saw Robin returning with more supplies to continue working on her cabin. Celeste waved off to her as she headed towards the mountain to wash off the dirt of the day in Robin’s home. 

Upon walking through the front door, she bumped into a slender man, pushing the breath completely out of her as she lost her balance. Both of them were looking down at their phones and not paying attention where they were walking upon collision. Celeste fell straight to the ground, turning red by her clumsiness as she looked up at the person she bumped into, who was able to find his balance and not take a fall.

Sebastian’s scowl quickly turned into a smile when he noticed it was Celeste he had run into, offering his hand to help her up. She timidly reached up to grab it, noticing it was cold to the touch, probably from him spending so much time in his room on the computer. His long, bony fingers delicately wrapped themselves around her hand, forcefully pulling her up with obvious effort. As Sebastian barely uttered a “hello,” Celeste expressed shock, finally remembering what she was there for. _And she remembered that she looked a mess!_ She was still sweating from the work on the farm and her hair was a tangled bird’s nest. She was crusted in a thin layer of dirt and absolutely felt like she had an odor that would make anyone’s nose turn up. Without responding, she picked up her bag from the floor and ran to the bathroom at the end of the hall, locking the door after her and turning the shower faucet to the hottest setting, letting the bathroom fill up with steam. 

After finishing her shower and getting dressed, she noticed that Sebastian was no longer in the house, so she headed to Pelican Town to socialize with the people she had met earlier and shop at Pierre’s for more seeds and supplies.

“Any produce you grow, I’m willing to buy off you,” she heard Pierre say as she walked out his shop door right before leaving.

It was a beautiful day. Birds were cheerfully singing at one another and the sun was shining brightly. She felt like maybe she could get used to this serenity.

Mayor Lewis saw her at a distance and called out to her, wondering why he hadn’t seen her in a few days. He asked her if she had already met everybody in town.

“Uh…I’m yet to meet Shane,” she said, disappointed in herself.

“Really? He’s not hard to miss,” she heard Lewis respond. “You’ll be sure to find him at the saloon tonight.” _So I’ve heard,_ she thought to herself.

Her and Lewis chatted a bit about how she met all the other townsfolk and what her daily activities consisted of. She told him how Robin was so kind and inviting and was building a bathroom and indoor plumbing for her. Before long, Celeste noticed that it was near 5 o’clock and she was getting hungry, so she said her goodbyes to Lewis and made her way to the Stardrop Saloon.

* * *

She sat at the bar stool, tapping her fingers on the bartop as she was eagerly waiting. _Why was she so obsessed with this?_ Well, she didn’t want to disappoint Lewis after all. At least that’s what she told herself. _It shouldn’t take long._

And it wasn’t long before the saloon started to fill up on a Wednesday night. First, Emily came in for her evening shift. Followed by Clint, the local blacksmith, sitting at a table furthest away, but staring at her the entire evening. Willy came in to spend the evening with him, but it was obvious that Clint wasn’t engaged in conversation and was there to spend him time watching Emily. Celeste felt a little uncomfortable by this realization, squirming in the stool and hoping that he wasn’t like the creepy guys she remembered from back home.

Pam walked in, blaring, “Ahh…finally!” She made Celeste uneasy. She often smelled of alcohol and slurred her speech constantly. She was a chronic drunk and exactly the type of person Celeste didn’t want to spend too much time around. She moved to the other end of the bar to create distance between herself and Pam, laying her head against her arm that rested against the bartop. 

And finally, there he was: Shane. He was the only person who walked into the saloon that evening that she hadn’t seen before. He took off his blue tattered jacket and slung it over his shoulder, revealing his green polo underneath, as he made his way to the back of the bar. Emily greeted him with a smile and handed him a pint of their cheapest, foamiest beer.

Before Shane could take a sip of the amber-colored liquid, Celeste rushed up to him and exclaimed, “Shane! You’re Shane! Right?”

He glared at her through the side of his eyes as he responded, “What do you want? Leave me alone.”

Celeste’s eyes welled up as her heart sank to her feet. _He couldn’t have intended to be that rude, could he?_ Maybe he just had a bad day at work. She was still looking at Shane, who turned his eyes to look away, as he took a long swig of foam from his pint glass. She expected something more… an apology for his rash remark... 

But, he seemed to not care…at all.

Celeste left in a hurry, nearly slamming the saloon door behind her. Emily and Gus looked up with pity, but Shane didn’t even turn to take a second glance at where she was standing.

* * *

Celeste was running as fast as her legs could take her, vocally sobbing. As she ran north, it started raining pelts that hit her skin like stones. She wanted nothing more than to go home, but with Robin not done with the plumbing, she would be a filthy mess all night long. So instead, she kept running, past the turn for her farm and up north towards Robin’s home in the mountains.

The run up took Celeste nearly 20 minutes, and when she got there, she was completely out of breath, heaving heavily trying to compose herself before she knocked on the door. A pale face stood at the doorway, staring blankly at her at first, before smirking and gesturing for her to enter. Celeste was relieved that because of the rain, it wouldn’t be obvious that she had been crying. The run up there was just long enough for her to calm herself down, and since she had to focus so heavily on trying to catch her breath, she had forgotten all about her interaction with Shane.

“What’s going on?,” she heard a male voice sympathetically say to her as she put her hands on her knees, trying to silence her pants and gasps. She looked up at Sebastian. He was genuinely curious, and he had a kinder demeanor to himself than their first interactions with one another.

“I-I got caught…in the...rain. I don’t have indoor…plumbing…I…” She was still trying to catch her breath.

Robin, hearing what was being said as she was walking into the foyer, spoke up. “Celeste! Of course you can stay here tonight. Just go take a hot shower and I will see if Maru is okay with you staying in her room. I’m sure she has some clothes you can borrow as well.”

Celeste’s breath was finally catching up with her as she let out a sigh. 

“Thank you.”

* * *

Maru, who was quite younger than Celeste - probably only about 20, was so excited that she would have a sleepover. After Celeste came out of the shower and put on some fresh clothes that she borrowed from Maru, she joined the family in the living room where they were playing Pears to Pears. 

“Hey, we were just about to start a new game! Join us!,” Maru said, as she was flashing the biggest smile ever to Celeste. 

She slowly made her way to the center of the room, where Robin, Demetrius, Maru, and Sebastian were gathered, holding onto their cards. There was an empty space between Sebastian and Demetrius where Celeste sat down, right as Maru handed her a deck of cards for her to play with.

“Do you know the rules?,” Maru began, ready to explain to the newcomer. It had been awhile since Celeste had played this game, so Maru reminded her exactly how to play.

While placing her Green card in the center, she realized that she didn’t know enough about anyone at this table to know how to appease them. She was competitive and wondered how on earth she would win against a family of four. Throughout the night, she felt Sebastian’s foot touch hers under the table, unsure if it was accidental, but her face would blush as she avoided looking at him. Robin seemed to notice Celeste’s forced avoidance and flushing face, smiling a big smile to herself as she kept what she witnessed her own secret.

After nearly two hours of gameplay and lots of laughter, Celeste stood up in excitement and exclaimed, “7 cards? I won!”

Maru was just as excited for her and ran up to hug her, Sebastian rolling his eyes, and Demetrius giving her a congratulatory handshake. They all started to wind down and settle for bed following Celeste’s victory, reading to call an end to the night. Robin had an inflatable mattress that she blew up for Celeste, placing it in Maru’s room. As Celeste made her way to Maru’s bedroom, she thanked Robin, wondering how she could ever repay her.

Robin reminded her that it wasn’t a burden and said, “I’m happy that you’re here.”

* * *

Dallas threw the door open, stomping his feet as he entered, causing Celeste to wake up in an alarm. Immediately, he began yelling at her. “You chose this fucking tool over me? He looks like he’s wearing makeup. What is he, some fucking girl?”

He was gesturing towards Sebastian, vile hatred in his eyes as he then glared at him and lifted up his fists, ready to strike. Celeste hopped out of bed and tried to calm Dallas down. She placed her hands on his chest and pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

“Dallas, no, we’re friends. We’re just friends. Please don’t hurt him!” 

Dallas was getting angrier, darkness filling his eyes now.

“A fucking fly **could** hurt him! Celeste, why did you leave me? I was perfect for you. You can’t find any better than me. You don’t _deserve_ any better than me.”

His words stung like venom, infecting Celeste as she began to lose balance from the poison in her head. She found herself falling backwards, getting absorbed into the ground and being smothered by the waves that formed, trying to swallow her whole. She was suffocating….

….and she woke up with a gasp, jolting sharply upwards on the inflatable mattress. She saw herself in Maru’s room: a nightlight was in the far right corner. Maru was still sleeping in her bed with a soft snore, and luckily Celeste’s violent awakening from her night terror didn’t wake her. She hid her face into her hands and started rubbing her eyes before checking the time. It was only about 11:30 but she needed some fresh air to clear her head.

She carefully opened the front door to Robin’s house, trying hard not to make a sound, and was relieved to see that the rain had stopped. She took a deep breath of the crisp air as she quietly made her way towards the lake.

When she was close enough, she saw a dark figure standing there, alone by the edge of the water. Upon approaching the lake, she noticed that it was Sebastian. Once she got close enough, she smelled the smoke from the cigarette he was inhaling a coitus desire. She let the smoke surround her as she stood beside him, inhaling another deep breath. Without turning his head to look at her, he offered her one, holding the pack out for her.

“No, thanks. I’m trying to quit.”

He turned to look at her with curious eyes as she kept her gaze on the moonlit lake.

“It’s beautiful,” he began. “I come out here to think, to clear my head.”

Celeste noticed the beauty he was referring to, not realizing he was still looking at her. The moon was full and cast a bright light on the surface of the lake, shimmering as the water slowly moved under the surface.

“I was thinking…,” he continued as he turned to look at the lake again, “…people are like stones skipping over the water. Eventually we’re going to sink.”

Celeste _heard_ that.

She looked over at Sebastian as he tossed his cigarette into the lake and made his way back into the house. She followed closely behind him, returning to Maru’s room, and quickly dozing back to sleep.

* * *

Celeste was up and gone early. Robin had washed her clothes overnight, so she put on her clean clothes and left Maru’s in the laundry basket before heading out the door by 7 AM. She didn’t hear anyone awake when she left, so she made sure she was quiet and careful. Walking towards her farm, she couldn’t stop thinking about…Shane. Even though he was glaring, he had this sad look in his eyes when he was rude to her in the bar. She kept telling herself that maybe it was because he had a bad day at work. She had heard from the other townsfolk that he worked at Joja Mart, and she knew that couldn’t be a good job to have. She was familiar with the work practices of Joja Mart Corporation and began to feel sympathy for him.

When she got to her farm, she started clearing some more debris off the land. She thought about how it would be nice to expand the farm and possibly get a chicken coop in the near future. Earlier than usual, she heard Robin making her way towards her farm, calling out to Celeste.

“You left so early this morning! I didn’t have a chance to speak with you!” Celeste reluctantly looked away, her cheeks flooding red with embarrassment. Robin already had to tolerate so much of her, and she couldn’t help but feel guilty for everything she was putting her through.

Robin smiled and continued, “I was thinking that you should stay in my home until I finish your plumbing. That way you can have a warm meal, a warm shower, and warm company each night.”

Robin winked, which only made Celeste blush more intensely.

“It will also make me feel better for you to not be around while I finish up this plumbing job. You shouldn’t be staying here overnight with the smell of solvents and glue.”

Celeste went inside and grabbed some clothes to suit her stay with Robin’s family for the next few days.

* * *

After dropping off her things in Maru’s room and Maru leaving for work, Celeste decided to venture back into town. She had finally met all of the townspeople so she had good news to share with Lewis!

* * *

That evening, Celeste decided to try again with Shane. Maybe he would be in a better mood today, and she would be able to get on his good side. The week was ending soon, and she was sure he would be looking forward to the upcoming weekend.

She walked into the saloon early, smiling at Gus and Emily as she walked in. She definitely felt like she was in a better mood today and she was able to show it. She hoped that everyone else felt the same.

5:30 and Shane walked in. Just like Gus had said, _like clockwork._

He didn’t notice Celeste as he walked in. Actually, he didn’t notice anybody as he walked in. Shane sulked to the counter where Emily often stood as she poured him a pint of foamy beer. His eyes, zoned out, didn’t even look at the glass as he grabbed it and went in for a sip, the warm foam touching his lips and beginning to ease him. The comfort he was beginning to settle into would quickly be dispelled once she came into view.

Celeste walked up to Shane and stood in front of him, smiling with hope. He slowly looked up at her, his eyes sluggishly following his head, as he stated, “You again? How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone?”

Celeste felt hurt and wanted to run away and cry as she did yesterday, but she found the courage to confront him.

“What’s your problem?! I spoke nothing but two words to you, and you seem to hate me!”

She was nearly yelling, but the saloon was playing music loud enough that only Emily was able to hear, turning for a moment to watch them, before returning to her work.

Shane groaned.

“What do you want from me? Money? I'd give you a pot of gold to leave me alone!”

Celeste looked closely into his face and saw that he was looking away. His face looked angry, but his eyes looked sad, just as they did the night before. She stood there in front of him, just staring at him, trying to get him to say something else, but he continued to look away.

“Why are you still bothering me? I want to be alone.”

Not only was Celeste persistent, but she knew that wasn’t true. His eyes briefly looked up at Celeste, breaking his rough facade for only a moment before looking away. He let out a disgusted grunt.

Emily quickly came with a bright smile and filled Shane’s pint glass once again.

Celeste grew concerned, placing her hand in front of him on the bartop as she said, “All of that cheap alcohol without any food won’t make you feel any better tomorrow.”

She was used to nursing Dallas when he was hungover so she knew the recipe for a really bad one. Shane was silent, looking down at the bubbles swirling in his glass with sorrow.

Celeste called Emily over, asking for a menu. Starting to feel hungry herself, she looked for the cheapest item that she could share.

“Can I have a pizza, half jalapeño peppers? Thanks.”

“It’ll be right up, Miss Celeste!,” Emily responded with glee.

Shane took his eyes off of his pint glass for a moment to look at Celeste. She was smiling, looking at her phone. She was completely unaware that Shane secretly appreciated her company tonight.

When the pizza came out, Celeste’s face lit up as she looked at Shane again.

“Hey, you really need to eat, so help yourself.”

Shane looked at her, a bit confused by her generosity. She grabbed a slice covered in jalapeños and grinned before taking a large bite that filled her mouth. His hand reached for a jalapeño slice as well, his face turning slightly red as he grabbed a slice. He hadn’t eaten all day and was famished. Although he felt comfort in the alcohol, it was beginning to turn his stomach.

Even though they both ate in silence, Celeste felt accomplished. After finishing all of the jalapeño smothered slices, they both grabbed the pepper flake shakers off the counter and buried the cheese half in red confetti. Shane bit his lip, surprised at Celeste’s appetite for heat, but never broke his eye contact with the food and booze.

After finishing the pizza and his third glass of beer, Shane turned to face Celeste and spoke again, after being silent the entire night.

“Hey. Sorry if I came off as rude when we first met. It takes me a while to warm up to strangers."

She let out a big smile, assuring him that she had forgiven his rude behavior. _It looks like he was misunderstood after all, and maybe he just needed a friend._

The saloon had started to empty out and Celeste found herself beginning to feel tired. She knew the walk towards Robin would be a long one, so she turned to Shane to kindly say goodbye as she made her way out the saloon. Shane didn’t respond, but watched her as she left.

* * *

He watched her as she shuffled towards the exit of the saloon, swiftly leaving into the darkness of the night. He was confused. Why would she spend the time and energy trying to get on his good side, especially when he was nothing but rude to her? No one in the town was nice to Shane, well…except for Emily. But she was nice to everybody.

He walked back to Marnie’s ranch that night, his stomach full of food rather than alcohol for once in a very long time. After unlocking the door, he noticed that the lights were off and Marnie and Jas seemed to be asleep. He quietly stumbled to his room and flopped on his bed, his mind still circulating with thoughts of Celeste. Before…

…..suddenly…..

….falling…..

……asleep.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


	4. Blossoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning: mild alcoholism and suicidality
> 
>  **Chapter playlists set the tone for the chapter.** For each chapter, a list of songs will be displayed to listen to while reading (or reflecting on) the chapter to help with visualizing the story.
> 
> _If you are on desktop, please right-click links to open in new tab to not leave the story page. Songs open in Spotify._
> 
> Song that Sebastian is listening to in his room: ["Driven Like the Snow" by Sisters of Mercy.](https://open.spotify.com/track/7qmqs3jG9Mjr2GRIja8ZEj?si=4NOF4UYQTbSKNWzAzfDW9g)

Shane felt happy when he woke up the next morning…

…Happier than he had in several months, so it amounted to something.

He woke up before his alarm, not hungover for once, and made his way to the kitchen. There he saw Marnie preparing some pancakes for Jas. He went over to his goddaughter and kissed her forehead, followed with a “Good morning, Marnie.”

Shocked for a moment, she looked up from the stove at Shane and then let out a smile as her face warmed up.

“Someone is in a good mood today.” 

Shane was quiet as he grabbed a pancake in his hand, smiling to himself while heading out the door.

“I’m going to be late for work. See you two tonight!”

On his way to work, he kept thinking about the night before. He thought about how Celeste was kind to him. Before he realized it, he was thinking about more than just her kindness. He remembered how gorgeous she was. Her eyes shined, a subdued green, herbal, like fresh sage. Her skin was a honey-kissed beige; it had a golden hue to it, and light freckles dawned her cheeks under her eyes and on the bridge of her nose. Her hair was thick and a really dark brown, nearly as dark as Shane’s, and the way it fell onto her shoulder, trickling down like a waterfall, some strands falling into the crevice where her breasts met….

Shane stopped his thoughts. He had reached Joja Mart and it was time for him to start the grueling 9-hour work day. _Maybe Morris will give me an easier time today_ , he hoped, as he pushed the double doors open and walked into the cold, sterile market.

* * *

The day started late for Celeste. She stayed in bed, longer than usual. Not because it was particularly comfortable, but she had to admit that it did feel better than the mattress she had back at the farm.

When she finally got up, she saw that Maru had left for the day. She made her way to the kitchen, noticing an empty house. Robin left a note in the foyer, indicating that she was at Caroline’s house, and Celeste figured that Demetrius was out collecting samples to examine.

She heard some music coming from Sebastian’s room, and her curiosity got the better of her. She slowly pushed the door open, knowing that it wasn’t right for her to intrude into his room uninvited, but she was drawn deeper into his den. At least she could see how he was doing and if he had plans for the day, some excuse like that.

He noticed her walking in quietly but didn’t look away from the screen. “Hey, sorry, let me just finish this up,” he spoke towards her as he turned down the music, his gaze uninterrupted while he typed away at his computer.

Celeste stood there watching as the light of the computer illuminating Sebastian’s face in the darkness of his room. He was a fast typer, hitting the keys with lightning speed, so much that he didn’t need to speed up as Celeste stood there waiting for him to finish.

“Sorry about that. What’s up?” He turned to face her, still seated at his desk, as his mouth picked up to a grin and his eyes intensely looked into hers.

“I, uh, wanted to see what you were up to,” Celeste said, her cheeks turning red for the _millionth_ time.

Sebastian let out a small titter and then matter-of-factly said to her, “Oh, I’m working.”

He lifted his eyebrow as he leaned slightly closer to her. “I’m a freelance programmer so I spend a lot of my time here working on projects for consultants. I’m not just playing on my computer, you know...”

Celeste turned away in full embarrassment, now knowing she had made the wrong judgment about him and feeling self-conscious that he might be aware of this.

“I, uh… sorry.”

“Why? I know why you got that impression. My mom and Demetrius think I’m just fooling around. They think I should be more like Maru; she’s a nurse working for Harvey and she builds robots. They see her career and hobbies as more _real_ than mine.”

He groaned and looked away, rolling his eyes and seeming to get more upset. Celeste looked at him with concern, as he turned back to her and responded, “I’m sorry for laying that on you. I’m okay now. What were your plans for the day?”

Sebastian got up from his chair and moved to his bed, sitting down and letting out a small smile in an effort to comfort Celeste. She stood there, frozen, unsure if she should join him on the soft mattress or just stand there like a mannequin. Would she be giving him the wrong impression if she sat in bed with him? What if Robin got home and saw? She had a habit of walking into Sebastian’s room unannounced so Celeste understood why he was often irritated by his family.

Instead, she just stood there, staring at Sebastian, examining his different features. His nose was long and straight, centered on his thin face, with his jaw sharp and chin being free of any hair. Even though she knew he dyed his hair because of how jet black it was, it looked silky to the touch. His hair was shorter to one side, with his fringe usually falling down on his face and covering his eye, but he often moved it out of the way and behind his ear to look at Celeste better when speaking to her, only doing the same when he worked on his computer. His frame seemed thin and slightly bony. His eyes were a dark brown, lightened with specks of hazel. She noticed that he wore the same hoodie everyday as if it was some sort of safety blanket. She found him breath-taking. His _bad boy_ exterior was irresistible to her, and she just kept staring…. silent...

Sebastian’s face glowered. Celeste stood there like a zombie, completely absorbed by her fantasies. _What was wrong with her?_

He stood up and walked towards her, lifting his eyebrow as he was closing the distance between them. She was knocked out of her delusion, gulping as her eyes met his, now just a foot apart. She stepped back and nearly shouted from panic, “Sorry, I have to go see Mayor Lewis! I’ll see you around!”

She breathlessly ran up the steps out of his bedroom, leaving the door ajar on her way out and running out to Pelican Town.

Sebastian rolled his eyes, slightly smiling to himself as he walked back to his computer. He still had a lot of work left to do.

* * *

Celeste met up with Mayor Lewis and he asked her about how she was doing on the farm. Pleased, he told her that he had a request from her, and he was _hoping she’d be up for the task._

“Of course, what is it?” she kindly said to him, eager to help those who have helped her.

He explained to her about how the Community Center used to be the highlight of the town, and how since Joja Mart had moved into Stardew Valley, everything slowly wasted away since the townsfolk seemed to be interested in the center less. He complained about the “rat problem” and asked if Celeste could help fix it up, saying that she seemed to be the real handy type.

“I’d ask Robin, but she’s always so busy, and her rates aren’t exactly cheap.” Lewis was side-eyeing, before looking back at Celeste with a nervous grin.

“I also feel like…this would be a great thing for you to do to solidify your belonging in this town!” He chuckled, “Everyone would adore you if you were able to fix this problem…. And I’d love it if that were the case.” He winked at her as he wrinkled his nose, causing his grey moustache to dance on his fawn-colored face.

Celeste realized what Lewis was telling her: he was happy that she had moved to town and didn’t want her to have any reason to leave. He knows that she hasn’t had the best of luck making friends with all of the townspeople and she knew that he saw this as a way to win everybody over.

“I’ll do it!”

* * *

It was 5 o’clock and Shane’s shift at Joja Mart was finally done. He sighed of relief as he took off his cap and work overalls and hung them in his locker room. He found thoughts of Celeste entering his mind again. _Was she going to be at the saloon today?_ He secretly hoped.

He walked down his normal path from Joja Mart just outside of the town, across the bridge that crossed the river, looking down at the ground the entire way there. The springtime breeze filled with the scent of daffodils and lilac. Shane kicked the dirt as he made his way, the warmth of the setting sun reddening his cheeks. He pushed the door open to the Stardrop Saloon and eagerly looked around. The only customer he saw was Pam. In defeated disappointment, he made his way to the back of the bar, where the blue-haired bartender smiled her toothy grin and filled him a pint glass of amber foam. Shane took a deep sigh, half hoping she’d show up soon, and brought the glass to his pursed lips.

* * *

It was nearly 9 o’clock now, and when she didn’t show, he was growing increasingly disappointed. The saloon filled up with people, which was typical for a Friday night. Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail were in the arcade, playing at the pool table. Demetrius and Robin were dancing to the music, and Leah and Elliott were excitedly chatting away at a table on the far left end. Clint and Willy, the other saloon usuals, were also there, sitting and enjoying some beers and food, with Clint mostly enjoying the view of Emily.

Shane started drinking faster in his dismay. Five pint glasses in and Emily realized how fast he was chugging down the toxic, bubbly liquid. She couldn’t keep quiet.

“Hey Shane, what’s up?” She leaned her elbow against the bar and placed her chin in her hand, giving a concerned look towards him.

He lifted his head slightly, bringing himself eye level to Emily, her honey colored eyes fixed onto his.

“Everything seems so... pointless,” he sighed. “... Sometimes I wonder why I even bother.”

Emily slammed her hands on the table, causing everyone to turn to look at them. Shane turned red, both in embarrassment and anger.

_It was just Shane, being angry and useless again_ , they all thought, as they returned to their joy. 

“Everything is not pointless,” Emily said, softening her voice after the saloon filled with noise and laughter once again, before grabbing onto one of Shane’s hands.

He was reminded of how kind Emily was, even as to how he considers her his only friend. But…. They weren’t close enough for him to share how he was feeling. Truth be told, he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt. His disappointment confused him.

“Shane, you’re awesome. Don’t lose sight of that,” she said, smiling her regular smile now. She let go of his hand and returned to work, humming to herself.

But Shane knew she was lying. _She just tells everybody this._ He was a waste of space. All he did was drink himself sick, and work at a job he hated so he can pay to do this. He was a lousy godfather to Jas and an awful nephew to Marnie. He was the most disappointing addition to this town and everyone knew just how much of a failure he was. If he vanished, he wouldn’t be missed.

He closed his tab early that night, retreating back to his room in Marnie’s ranch. No one watched him leave. No one even thought twice about how this behavior was unusual for him.

Not feeling quite as drunk as needed to forget his problems, he remembered the cheap beers he stole from Joja Mart the other day, hidden under his bed. He hastily grabbed the six-pack and headed out the door towards the dock at the southern lake just a hundred yards below Marnie’s front door. He took a gas lantern with him in his other hand, lighting the way as he drunkenly stumbled along.

The air was filled with a cool mist as clouds slowly rolled into the valley sky overhead, still leaving space for a soft moonlight to illuminate the lake. He threw himself on the edge of the dock, dangling his feet over the edge so they were barely hovering over the water, just before he stared at his reflection, disgusted at what he saw.

He extended his leg and kicked his reflection, looking to the pack of beers that he placed by his left side.

“Buh…” He grabbed a warm beer and cracked it open. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Celeste had spent all day working on the Community Center since Lewis told her about it, cleaning up the debris as she scoured the area to determine where she should begin. Just picking up everything took several hours, and when the sun started to set, she made her way to the southwest area of Stardew Valley, foraging in the forest for salmonberries that she imagined making a pie from for Robin and her family as a ‘thank you’ for their hospitality. Her basket was getting full and she had lost track of time, her phone losing battery from her using it as a flashlight.

_Oh wow, it’s already 9 o’clock,_ she thought to herself, looking at her dying phone. _I should start heading back to Robin’s._

As she made her way up Cindersap Forest, guided by the faltering moonlight that was slowly being covered by clouds, she saw a light in the distance at the edge of the dock. A figure sat at the edge, quietly talking to themselves.

She approached the figure from behind, coming to the realization that it was Shane sitting alone in the dark once she was close enough to see his tattered blue jacket. She walked up to the edge where he sat, sitting next to him on the right as she placed the basket of berries behind her.

For once, he spoke up before her, looking at the horizon as he sluggishly said, “Up late, huh?”

She looked at him briefly before she returned her gaze to what he was staring at. As beautiful as Stardew Valley was during the day, there was just something so spectacular about it at night, a magic that existed in the forest that the moonlight was just never bright enough to reveal.

In between sips of his beer, Shane looked towards Celeste and held a can out towards her, “Here, have one.”

Celeste stared at the can in his hand before she looked at Shane again. She didn’t want to be rude, but she hated the taste of beer. And she despised what alcohol reminded her of. _This was what she wanted to avoid._

Still, she reached for the can, her fingers slightly brushing onto his, as she bit her bottom lip. He turned his gaze back to the horizon after she grabbed the can from him. She was looking down at it, reconsidering her acceptance of the alcohol. 

He spoke again, “Buh….Life.”

There was a long silence afterwards. A slight drizzle started to fall, but the moonlight was still visible through the clouds that blew in its way. Celeste was still staring at the can, feeling a strange sense of comfort in Shane’s presence. His drunkenness didn’t remind her of Dallas, not like she expected. His drunkenness reminded her of… her.

He spoke again, stirring the air around them. “You ever feel like…no matter what you do, you’re gonna fail?”

Her gaze was fixated on the lake, as the raindrops, heavier now, formed ripples in the water below them.

“…Like you’re stuck in some miserable abyss and you’re so deep you can’t even see the light of day?”

Celeste’s heart felt heavy. _Yes, I know that feeling. All. Too. Well._

He continued speaking, slurring, as if he was alone in his thoughts. “I just feel like no matter how hard I try…I’m not strong enough to climb out of that hole.”

Why was everything he was saying making so much sense to Celeste? Filled with overwhelm, she opened the can of beer, chugging it to taste as little of it as she could.

“Heh…fast drinker, huh?”

She quickly turned to look at him. He was staring into her eyes with a small smirk on his face, too drunk to even have a second thought. “Woman after my own heart.”

Her cheeks flushed red as she clenched on the can in her hands. _Thank Yoba it’s so dark outside._

He turned back to face the horizon, raindrops getting heavier now. “Just don’t make it a habit…you got a future ahead of you still,” he tried hard not to slur his words as he spoke.

There was a brief moment of silence, only the sound of the drops resounding as they hit the water. Shane finished his final can for the evening and crushed it under his foot, standing up as he said, “Welp… my liver’s beggin’ me to stop. Better call it a night.”

He stuck his hand out to help Celeste to her feet. His hand was warm and wrapped around hers delicately, but his grip was firm. She looked again into his brown eyes as he helped her stand up. The rain began to get heavier as the moon slowly hid behind the clouds. Celeste looked up and frowned, drops hitting her face with a force that caused her to wince. Shane took off his hoodie and put it around Celeste, her pulling the hood to cover her head from the rain.

“Let me walk ya. It’s getting late. I don’t want you out here in the dark all alone.” 

Shane anticipated the walk would just be to her cabin at the farm, not knowing that she was staying with Robin. He almost regretted his decision to walk her, realizing he would have to come through this path alone as the night grew darker.

The walk took 40 minutes in the rain, and their shoes were wet and muddy from the unpaved path north of Pelican Town. The storm started to let up just as they reached Robin’s front door around midnight. It was getting late, especially for Celeste, and she started to feel sleeping pulling at her.

She took off Shane’s jacket and handed it back to him, thanking him for his kindness. He couldn’t help but simper a painful smile. As he turned around to start his walk back home, he said, “See ya around, kid.”

Celeste smiled to herself. She hoped to see him around.


	5. Sebby

The weekend finally arrived. Robin told Celeste that she only needed a couple more days to finish making her bathroom and then she would be able to return to staying in her cabin. Celeste was excited to soon be able to return to her new home, so she happily got to work on baking a salmonberry pie for that evening. She also got some parsnips that she harvested from her farm and headed to Pierre’s to buy more veggies to make dinner for Robin and her family. Life in this town was turning out better than she expected it. She was treated with kindness and she looked forward to each day.

She also looked forward to possibly running into Shane this weekend. She didn’t know what his weekend activities consisted of, but she hoped he had more interests than just drinking. To her delight, she found him at Pierre’s, looking at the stocked shelves and picking out some groceries for himself. 

“Hey Shane!” Celeste enthusiastically spoke, almost too frantically because Pierre looked up from his cash register in amusement.

He didn’t turn to look at her. _Maybe he didn’t hear me?_

She went up to him and touched his arm, smiling and hoping he’d turn around to face her with a kind greeting in return. Slowly, he turned his head, looking towards the ground, and dismally said, “You're really persistent...” 

Taken aback by his response, considering how sweet he was the previous night, _or so she assumed_ , she faintly said, “What do you mean?” Her voice broke as she let the words come out.

He sighed and turned back to face the shelves. “I guess I'm just surprised that anyone would be interested in talking to me.”

Her mood (and the corners of her mouth) picked up, as she stepped in his line of sight and blocked him from looking at the shelves. She was face-to-face with him, as he was maybe just an inch taller than she.

“Why is that a surprise?” Her face looked closely at his, analyzing every detail. He had a 5 o’clock shadow, despite how early in the day it was, and his hair was a very dark brown and messily pushed to the side. He had heavy bags under his eyes that looked like they weighed a ton. _But when he smiled his rare smile, it was sweet._

Shane’s cheeks started to get rosy as she stood just inches away from him. “Agh, I gotta go.” He moved to the side and rammed what he was carrying back on the shelf behind Celeste and made his way to the front door, swiftly leaving Pierre’s General Store.

Feeling rejected and embarrassed, Celeste turned to glance at Pierre, who was commiseratingly staring at her. In a frenzy, she grabbed what she needed from the shelves and made her way to the counter, looking down as he charged her for her items. Upon bagging her goods, she immediately left his store, burning red as she headed back to Robin’s to cook dinner for the evening.

* * *

Robin had spent the day out in the mountains, helping Demetrius gather some soil samples. She wasn’t aware of what Celeste was up to when she came home to a wonderful aroma. She curiously made way to the kitchen and saw her cooking, lost in a trance as she joyfully hummed to herself.

“Celeste! How wonderful…,” Robin began to exclaim, stirring Celeste from her daydream. She jumped up with a small squeak and began to feel sheepish from not planning this thoroughly.

“Oh Robin! I-It was supposed to be a s-surprise.,” she nervously stammered. “As a thank you…. _for all you’ve done for me!_ ”

Robin beamed as she started to tip-toe backwards and teasingly said, “Oh, a surprise? Let’s just _pretend_ I didn’t see this then!” as she grabbed a confused Demetrius by the arm and made her way back outside.

* * *

Sebastian was outside by Sam’s house in Pelican Town, sitting with him by the river. They were shoulder-to-shoulder leaning against the big oak tree, Sam playing his GameToy and Sebastian smoking a cigarette. 

“Oh no, oh no!,” the blonde young man cried out with disappointment. “Ugh, I can never get past this level!” Sam wasn’t very good at games, but he tried, and that was endearing enough. Sebastian rolled his eyes, flicking the ashes onto the ground.

Sam smiled as he closed his game console and put it on the ground next to him. He smirked as he looked at Sebastian. “So, dude…”

  
Sebastian slightly turned his head, moving his eyes the rest of the way to look at Sam. “Yeah?”

Moving forward to be closer to him, Sam lowered his voice and said, “That new farmer, what do you think?”

“Celeste?” Sebastian was giving Sam a look of discontent.

“Yeah!” Sam smiled goofily, his blonde hair reaching towards heaven with more hair gel than any one person ever needed and his bright blue-green eyes focused on Sebastian. He was eagerly waiting for his response.

“She’s cool.” Sebastian kept it short, looking back at the river as he answered him.

Sam slumped down. He knows that Celeste had been staying with Sebastian’s family for a few days now and expected a little more of a response than that. Maybe he expected an exciting story. Or a confession. But he was talking to Sebastian after all.

“She’s really cute,” Sam said with a nudge, trying to pry more out of his friend.

“Yeah, I guess,” Sebastian responded, trying to get Sam to drop the subject. He finished his cigarette and dropped it on the ground next to where his boot was, smashing it as he stayed sitting against the tree, his shoulder still against Sam’s.

Sam picked up his GameToy once again and said to Sebastian, “Well, I’m thinking about asking her out on a date or something.”

Sebastian stayed quiet, leaning his head against the tree and sighing, falling into a daydream.

As the sun began to set, Sebastian stood up and motioned for Sam to do the same. “We should start heading over to my place before it gets dark.”

* * *

Celeste didn’t know that it was kind of a routine for Sam to come over and spend the night with Sebastian, joining his family for dinner, on Saturdays. Right as she finished cooking, she ran to Maru’s bedroom and got dressed into something a tad more formal.

Sebastian walked in with Sam, the blonde excitedly talking to Sebastian about the game he finally was able to beat, hoping he’d revel in his accomplishment with him. Instead, Sebastian stopped dead in his tracks, apparently not hearing a word Sam said. When Sam noticed this, he looked up to see what Sebastian was staring at: Celeste was wearing a coral dress with yellow flowers on it, hugging her body in the most delicate manner. Her dark hair was in a loose braid to the side and she was wearing mascara and light blush on her cheeks.

Sam was gaping at what he saw. _Yeah, she’s really cute,_ he thought to himself. He was secretly feeling jealous of Sebastian for getting to spend all this time with her, but hating the fact that he didn’t do anything with it.

Robin and Demetrius walked in behind them, the redhead pretending to be surprised, just as she practiced with her husband after they left earlier. “Ooooh, Celeste! What’s going on here?” She winked clumsily.

As if it was just some strange coincidence, Maru walked into the kitchen area from the lab right as Celeste opened her mouth. “I made you all dinner….as a thank you for your hospitality.” She spread her arms out to motion towards the food that was sitting on the stove, ready for everyone to begin serving themselves.

Sam felt weak in the knees. _She’s cute and she can cook._

Robin, with fake enthusiasm to continue her surprised act, spoke again, “That is **SO** sweet. Isn’t she so sweet, Sebby?”

Sebastian scowled at his mother, who always seemed to find the best ways to humiliate him in front of people. 

Celeste nervously laughed. “Let’s dig in, everybody!”

The family gathered at their dinner table, pulling two new chairs that Robin just built, to eat the food Celeste slaved over the stove for. Excitement and laughter filled the air.

“These parsnips are very delicious,” Maru said, her finger in the air matter-of-factly. “Did you grow them yourself?” She was smiling ear-to-ear, ready to be impressed by her answer.

“Yes! Those I grew! The rest is from Pierre’s shop though.”

“No wonder they’re so yummy!,” Sam interjected, flashing a dopey smile her way.

Smiling back at Sam, she glanced over towards Sebastian, half-expecting him to compliment her cooking as well, but he simply sat quietly in his seat, slowly eating the plate of food in front of him.

“Celeste, honey. You should be proud. Everything is so delicious, and it looks like Demetrius has some real competition in this kitchen now,” Robin gleefully boasted about her husband.

After dinner, Celeste served them the salmonberry pie that she had made earlier in the day, cooled from the fridge. It had a flaky, homemade crust that was perfectly buttered, and the red center was tart, yet sweet, deliciously topped off with vanilla ice cream. Everyone was stuffed after their first round, but wanted seconds to what they described as the best way they’ve ever had salmonberry before. 

As the night started to wind down, Sebastian made way to his bedroom in the basement and started setting up to play Solarion Chronicles, a fantasy tabletop role-playing game. Sam was still sitting in his chair in the kitchen as Celeste was cleaning up, something she offered to do as a continued thank you to Robin and her family. Maru had gone to her bedroom for an early night in and Robin and Demetrius also went to their rooms, not giving a reason, but nobody was curious enough to ask as it was apparent why.

Sam was gawking at Celeste as she picked up the dishes and rinsed them before playing them in the dishwasher.

“So, how’s it going?”

Celeste turned around to look at Sam, who began blushing when she glanced his way. She innocently smiled, before turning back around to finish placing the dishes in the machine. “What do you mean?” she said, looking down at her hands as she closed the dishwasher door.

She dried her hands on a nearby towel, and turned back around to face Sam, who was beginning to fidget in his seat as a cold sweat hit him.

“Uh…”

Sebastian called from his room, asking Sam to join him for the game. As Sam stood up before leaving the table, he said to her, “Well, we’re gonna play Solarian Chronicles…it’s kind of like a role-playing game.” He bashfully rubbed the back of his head, walking away from the table and hold his head out towards Celeste. “I was wondering if you’d like to join us.”

As she nodded in delight, Sam’s face lit up and he grabbed her hand, swiftly leading her down to Sebastian’s lair.

Sebastian was sitting on the ground with a board game, cards, multiple dice of different number sides, and small figurines set up on a short table in front of him. He was sitting cross-legged, holding a blue glass bong up to his face.

Celeste then started to notice the scent in the room. An aroma she hasn’t smelled since before she got together with Dallas. She often used to smoked cannabis to deal with her anxiety, but Dallas forbade it, being against that _illegal shit_ , something she found completely hypocritical due to his alcohol abuse.

Sebastian’s eyes were wide, almost in fear. He wasn’t sure what to think of Celeste finding out that he smoked cannabis. She seemed to not mind that he smoked cigarettes, _how would this be any different?_ He stared at Sam’s hand as it held on to Celeste’s. Sam seemed _very_ happy, smiling a goofy grin that took up half his face. _Maybe he found the courage to ask her on a date,_ Sebastian thought to himself. 

When Sam reached the bottom of the staircase, he opened his mouth, almost to shout, “She wants to play with us, dude!”

“Ok, ok, shh.... Celeste,” he turned to look at her, lifting his eyebrow as he spoke, “do you know how to play?”

She responded, lowering her tone and directing her attention to Sebastian with an intense look in her eyes. “No. But I’d like you to teach me.”

Sam let go of her hand and ran to sit cross-legged next to Sebastian. He eagerly grabbed the bong from him and took a deep toke. His hyper energy began to settle down as the drug slowly made its way into his bloodstream. 

He passed the glass figurine to Celeste across the table where she now sat; she was hesitant at first, looking carefully at Sam and Sebastian, before she took the pipe and held the spout to her mouth, taking a long hit. It was warm, and she felt it travel past her tongue and down her spine, burning her throat at first, before soothing the rest of her body. She was sore from working on the farm and in the kitchen, so she felt it slowly calm her senses, relax her nerves, ... _ease her thoughts._

Sebastian and Sam were both staring at her, their eyes wide with wonder. She sat there in silence for a while, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feeling wash over her body. Her breathing slowed and she smiled to herself, missing the sensation that brought her comfort. 

Sam then shifted his gaze towards Sebastian, who was still staring at Celeste, a glimmer in his eyes as he closely watched her.

_Yeah, he totally likes her. I don’t know why he couldn’t just tell me,_ Sam thought despondently, feeling a mix of disappointment in the shared interest and the lack of transparency from Sebastian. However, it didn’t take much for Sam to get back up from feeling down. Any feelings that he might’ve had for Celeste were easy to put to the side if he knew that his best friend felt a certain way: he can’t even remember the last time Sebastian showed any kind of interest in anybody! Feeling selfless and remembering what they were there to do, he blissfully said, “Let’s play!”

Sebastian and Celeste were both woken up from their trance, looking directly into each other’s eyes across the table. Sebastian leaned in closer to her, wanting to make sure she heard him clearly. 

“Ok, Celeste. We’ve got three characters here: the warrior, the healer, or the wizard. Which one would you like the play as?” Celeste quietly examined her options, reading through their character sheets before making a decision, and then in a silken voice said, “I’ll go with the healer.”

They played for an hour, passing the water pipe around, before they reached the final boss. After finishing the campaign, they started to feel a little lethargic and Sebastian went to sit on his bed, as he started up a movie on his TV.

“Uh…I’m going to change into my pajamas. I’ll be right back.” Sebastian grabbed some things from his dresser and walked up the steps and into the nearby bathroom just outside of his room.

They sat there with silence between the two of them, the beginning credits of the movie rolling in the background. Sam stared at the screen, thinking to himself, before he turned to face Celeste. He was too high to really have any sense of inhibition as he said to her, “You’re beautiful.”

“I’m what?,” she demurely replied, wanting to look away but keeping her gaze in Sam’s intense blue-green eyes. His pupils were dilated and his eyes glistened, reflecting the light of the television screen.

“What I meant to say is, Sebastian thinks you’re beautiful.” Sam cleared his throat, ready to sacrifice any sense of privacy his friend might’ve had. “I’m pretty sure he has a thing for you.”

Celeste resolutely turned her head to look at her hands, her cheeks burning intensely. Sam then leaned in slightly closer to her, poking her thigh as a way of trying to get her to look back at him. “So...what do you think of him?”

Before she could answer, Sebastian entered the room again, donning black pajama bottoms with frogs on them and a black top with one of the same frogs in the center. His eyes looked at the two of them, seeing how closely they were sitting near one another. As their mouths perked up in a smile, he started to feel embarrassed by his attire, rushingly saying to them, “It was a gift, ok? It’s my only clean pair right now.”

Sam quickly got up from the mattress and made his way up the stairs, taking a cold shower to calm himself down before changing into his own pajamas. When he left the room, Sebastian sat on the bed where Sam previously did, crossing one leg under him. Usually he wouldn’t be this bold, _but Yoba, he was stoned._ Pretending to pay attention to the movie that kept playing, he started to brush his finger up against her arm that was on her lap, forcefully keeping his gaze towards the television screen.

Celeste’s eyes went from the television to his hands to his face. He carefully looked up at her, keeping his gaze at her rose pink lips for a short, _but noticeable,_ moment, before darting up to her sage green eyes. Her pupils were so dilated her eyes looked dark in the dim light of his room. She was bravely beginning to close the distance between them, when-

“Phew. I’m ready to hit the hay. Did you guys still wanna watch that movie?” Sam burst into the door at the top of the staircase, his blonde hair no longer gelled up and now falling to his chin.

Celeste immediately stood up and said, “I gotta…shower… and change. I’ll be right back.” She nearly ran up the stairs as she made her way out of Sebastian’s room.

When she returned, Sam and Sebastian were sitting right beside one another on Sebastian’s bed, space being vacant to Sam’s left for Celeste. They each sat up against the wall, shoulder-to-shoulder, watching a movie that none of them were awake enough to finish. 

Ten minutes into the film, and Sam was lightly snoring, his head up against the wall behind him. Celeste looked at him and then at Sebastian, both of them laughing in a whisper.

“Maybe we should just get to bed,” Sebastian said as he was turning off the television. Sam, who was sleeping sprawled across Sebastian’s bed, needed to be moved.

As Celeste picked up Sam’s feet, Sebastian picked him up by his arms, and they carefully moved him to the sleeping bag set up on the floor that Sam decided to sleep in, specifically since Celeste was using the inflatable mattress in Maru’s room.

Right when Celeste was about to leave to get to bed, Sebastian lightly grabbed her by the arm right as he thought to himself, _this might be my only shot, just go for it!_

“Would you like to…finish the movie with me?”

Not really interested in the movie, but also not wanting to go to bed yet, she agreed.

And there they were, Celeste and Sebastian, sitting a mere inch apart, in Sebastian’s bed, _watching_ a movie. Sebastian felt his high fading away, his anxiety and lack of confidence returning to him. 

Their feet were dangling off the bed, and Celeste reached her foot out towards Sebastian’s, using her toes to flirtatiously tickle to his sole. Sebastian started to feel a cold sweat on his body, uneasy with what was apparently happening.

He awkwardly stretched his body out in a yawn and said, “Celeste... I’m really tired. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” Celeste looked at him and her mouth slowly picked up in a cute smile. She got up from his bed and made her way towards the staircase, before turning around to say one last thing to Sebastian.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Sebby.”

  
  



	6. Chickens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter playlists set the tone for the chapter.** For each chapter, a list of songs will be displayed to listen to while reading (or reflecting on) the chapter to help with visualizing the story.
> 
> _If you are on desktop, please right-click links to open in new tab to not leave the story page. Songs open in Spotify._
> 
> End of chapter song: ["Using" by Sorority Noise](https://open.spotify.com/track/5zXvIVOjU48L8TDnrnuvmg?si=R944L-AuSE69534_ameXrw)

The next morning, Celeste had an early brunch with Robin's family before heading down to the beach to practice her fishing. On her way to the pier, she ran into Leah. Celeste had heard that Leah was the artsy type from other people in the town and asked if she'd like to hang out and paint together sometime. Leah excitedly stated that she was on her way to the beach to draw, so she walked alongside Celeste as they made their way to the docks.

The beach was nice this time of year. Not too hot as the springtime breeze kept the skin cool. The waves calmly lapped the shore. Seagulls were flying in the sky, cheerfully singing to one another, if you could call their sound a song.

Leah was sitting in the sand next to Celeste as she was fishing in the shore. She was able to catch a couple herring and a flounder, but no more fish were biting.

After noticing the fish were no longer interested, Celeste turned towards Leah to tell her that she was probably going to head back to her cabin. She was expecting Robin to finish today, especially since this morning Robin had asked her to meet her at her farm before sundown.

"Hey! No problem. I'm done with this drawing, and I'll walk with you. I'm headed that way anyways." Leah closed her sketchbook and quickly stood up, her auburn hair bouncing with the soft breeze as she moved.

It was a 20-minute walk to Leah's cabin just south of Marnie's ranch, but it felt so short with the conversation. She felt very comfortable around Leah and wasn't ready to cut the visit short. And apparently neither was Leah, as she invited Celeste inside.

"Wow, this is a really cool home," Celeste said, looking around at half-painted canvases stacked on the floor near an easel, a small table for dining in the kitchen, and full bed to the side, no walls blocking off any of the rooms except for the bathroom.

"It's modest, but it'll do," Leah responded with a grin. "Are you hungry? Let me make you a quick meal."

"I don't want to impose," Celeste was quick to respond. "Nonsense!"

Within a few moments, Leah prepared a dandelion greens salad with goat cheese and fresh berries. It was topped with strawberries and a vinaigrette. _That was…quick._

"Would you like some wine?," Leah asked as she poured herself a glass.

Celeste held her hand up and said, "I'm not much of a drinker. Water will do."

The two of them spent some time chatting about their lives before moving to Stardew Valley, realizing they had more in common than they previously thought.

"I tried to escape an ex," Leah said in a pensive tone. "My ex…always tried to control what I did and when I did it. Here in the valley I feel free. I've been very content with the life I've started to live since coming here."

Maybe this is why Celeste was able to get along with Leah so well. They seemed to have similar histories and, seeing how Leah was living happily, she was beginning to feel more excited about her choice to come live in Stardew Valley.

_Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing._

A text came to Celeste's phone. It was Robin, and she was asking if Celeste would be there soon. "You know what, Leah," she started to say in between the final bites of her salad, "I gotta go. Robin is actually expecting me."

Leah teasingly frowned and said, "That's fine, until next time."

As Celeste was headed out the door, Leah ran up to her and said, "Oh! Wait! I drew this for you at the beach. I hope you like it." She smiled at her and closed her door as Celeste turned around and started to walk away.

She looked down at the drawing that Leah had made. It was a sketch of Celeste fishing at the beach. _How sweet of her, and wow, she's a great artist!_

* * *

Back at the farm, Celeste was so excited to see Robin standing outside her door, hands on her hips. She started running towards her with glee.

"So just run the water for 10 minutes for it to clear up and then you should be good to go. Call me if you have any problems."

"I can never repay you for this, Robin!"

 _You have done more than enough for my family and me,_ Robin thought to herself as she walked back north to her home.

* * *

That night, Celeste drew a warm bath and laid in it, relieved to finally have the privacy and comfort of her own cabin. She really enjoyed staying at Robin's, for more reasons than one, but finally being able to be on her own was a blessing.

After her bath, Celeste finished getting ready for bed, turning off the lights and settling into her mattress. Things were really looking up.

* * *

She was up bright and early the next morning, ready to take on the day. Since she hadn't spent much time at the farm for the last week, a lot of the weeds and grass that she had cut down grew again. She didn't mind, as she was full of energy and ready to get serious about this _farming business._

Just before 9 o'clock hit, Celeste grabbed her bag and made her way into town to stop by Pierre's. She heard singing coming from inside, and as she opened the glass doors, she saw Pierre behind the cash register, belting it out before he realized she had walked in.

"Uh…. HELLO FARMER CELESTE," he exclaimed in his chipper voice. "Here to buy some seeds?"

"Yes, and some fertilizer please."

* * *

She spent all day in the sun, hoeing the dirt and planting the new seeds. The season had just enough time left for her to grow the cauliflower, green beans, and kale she planted in the ground.

After she finished planting her crops, she started chopping down some of the decaying trees on the land, clearing the area for her future chicken coop. The stumps were the worst part: they were so hard to pull out and several of them trailed really deep. But she was persistent. And before the sun reached the three-quarter mark in the sky, she had cleared enough land for a coop. She just needed to save the funds to be able to afford one. With her last harvest of parsnip, along with the extra salmonberries she foraged that she sold to Pierre this morning, she was still short for the coop. She planned to sell some lumbar to Robin in a trade for her to get started.

As the sun approached the horizon, Celeste was starting to feel hungry. She knew going to Gus's every night wasn't a good idea finance-wise, especially if she was trying to save up for a coop and some chickens, but without a stove in her cabin, it was hard for Celeste to have an enjoyable meal that was more than just foraged goods and raw veggies. She was beginning to drop weight from her increased activity and natural diet, so she really had the cravings for something from the saloon.

She ran into her newly built bathroom, admiring it once again, before hopping out, tying her hair into a messy bun, and putting on a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Within 15 minutes, she was out the door and headed towards the Stardrop Saloon.

* * *

Shane hadn't seen Celeste in days. She hadn't stopped by the saloon since last week and his last interaction with her was the brief moment at Pierre's shop on Saturday.

Every time he heard the door open, he would look up to see if it was the new farmer entering the saloon, and every time he would be disappointed.

He eventually stopped looking up. He stopped counting on it.

Celeste walked into the saloon, it being quieter on a Monday night than it had been those other days, went to the bar and ordered a bowl of spaghetti. "You order will be right out, Miss Celeste!," Emily loudly claimed in her high pitched voice.

 _Celeste? She's here!_ , Shane thought to himself. He tried not to make it obvious that he was looking. He started feeling confused. No one in town has ever caught his attention before. He can't even remember the last time he was in a relationship with somebody, and it wasn't just her nice demeanor because Emily was the nicest one in town, but he almost felt like Emily had sympathy for him…. What was he doing?! He couldn't ever guarantee that Celeste would ever want anything with him anyways! He was a waste of space, garbage. The drinking had made him put on some weight from his gridball days, and he was especially self-conscious of the belly he developed because of it. His hair was a mess and he could never shave close enough with his dull razors to where it looked like he didn't have a 5 o'clock shadow coming in. The bags under his eyes were just as dark as his stubborn beard hairs, making him appear older than he was. He hadn't even hit his 30s yet, but yobadamn, he felt like he was closer to his 40s.

As Emily walked away, Celeste looked up and saw Shane sulking in the corner all alone. She stood up from the bar stool she was sitting at and made her way towards him, flashing him a big smile.

Before Celeste could get too close to him, Shane snarked at her, "I'm busy. Can't you tell?"

Celeste laughed, saying to him, "Busy doing what? Your glass is already empty, and Emily is too busy preparing my meal to fill it up for you right now." Shane huffed. He didn't find this as funny as Celeste did. In fact, he didn't find this funny at all. "I'm surprised that you're still trying to make friends with me. Haven't I been rude enough to you yet?" He let out a deep sigh. Celeste was wondering why he was so reserved, but she felt like it had to do with the hurt he carried in his eyes.

Celeste looked at him and said, "I know we're not friends, but you don't need to feel so lonely and rotten here in the corner." Her brows were furrowed and her eyes glimmered with concern. She knew what it was like to _waste away_ with no one to give a damn about whether you'd be here in this world tomorrow. She lived it, and she didn't want anyone else in this wonderful town going through the same.

They were making eye contact for a while before Celeste finally broke the silence. "Have you eaten yet?" Who was she kidding? Shane didn't come to Gus's saloon to eat, he came here to drink. And food just slowed the drunkness and made it fade faster. He drank to _forget_. He looked at the foamy bubbles that populated the bottom of his pint glass.

"I'll take that as a no."

Emily was just returning with Celeste's spaghetti when she said, "Hey Emily, can I have another one please?" With a confused look which turned into a smile, the blue-haired barmaiden responded, "You gotcha!" and skipped back to the kitchen.

"Here, this is for you. Not sure if you're a spaghetti fan, but regardless, you gotta eat." Shane was thankful, albeit confused and skeptical, but thankful nonetheless.

Celeste watched him eat while she waited for Emily to bring out her plate. He was careful with his bites, taking each one slowly and seemingly tasting the food. It wasn't the same way he drank the beer, fast and sloppy like he was in some drinking competition.

Celeste saw that he was nearly transfixed by the food and almost felt bad for interrupting. "So… you work at Joja Mart? That must suck."

Shane swallowed his bite and, without moving his head, turned his eyes to Celeste. "How would you fucking know?"

"Um, I would fucking know… a lot. I worked for Joja Mart Corporation Call Center. All those pissed off customers you had to deal with in the shop, well they would call me to continue yelling after they were through with you."

Shane dropped his fork and let out a bellowed laugh. "You can't be serious?"

He looked at Celeste, half-expecting her to pull a raspberry and say she was kidding.

"Damn, how did you end up so nice then?"

Emily set down the fresh plate of spaghetti in front of Celeste and gushed, "Oh Miss Celeste! How kind of you to give your bowl of spaghetti to Mr. Shane!"

_Nice. Kind. Did others truly see her that way?_

She quickly devoured her food, Shane intriguingly staring at her from the corner of his eye, occasionally looking back at the suds floating in his empty pint glass. Music was playing loudly in the saloon and Shane relaxed into his bar stool, slouching his back and placing his elbows on the bar table.

When Celeste finished eating, she looked to Shane and said, "Well, I guess I'm gonna get going now. I have an early start tomorrow." Without hesitation or a moment's thought, Shane reached his hand out to Celeste's face and rubbed the red mark from under her lip. "You've got spaghetti sauce on your chin. I don't know if you were saving that for later or not, but it's not a cute look." His humor was dry, but Celeste couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks, Shane."

As she made her way to the cash register, Shane quickly followed her, untangling his right hand from the pint glass handle. "Here, let me get that." He offered Gus the cash to pay for his and Celeste's meal.

_Nice. Kind._

She found herself repeating. "Thanks, Shane." She started heading for the door again, Shane trying to keep up with her. She noticed him walking alongside her out of the saloon and into Pelican Town, and when she looked at him, he stammered, "I'm walking this way, anyways. Let me walk you home, it's dark."

Shane was mostly quiet during the walk, but Celeste was in such a good mood that she was babbling off, talking about how her farm was doing, and how excited she was. "And I can't wait for Robin to finish my chicken coop so I can get started-"

Shane interrupted her. "Chicken coop?"

"Yeah! I'm so excited to start raising chickens. I was around them a few times when I was a kid, but I still have a lot to learn about 'em. I was going to stop by Marnie's tomorrow to ask her for some pointers."

"I know chickens!," Shane blurted. He wanted to hit his palm to his face.

Celeste's eyes lit up as she looked in his direction. He was looking at the ground with force, hands in his jacket pockets. "Cool! Maybe you can teach me." She nudged his shoulder with her elbow. Shane let out a small smile. "Maybe."

The rest of the walk was done in silence. Celeste was beginning to get sleepy and didn't have the energy to be talkative anymore, and Shane, well he wasn't much of a talker to begin with.

"Well, here we are. Thanks for walking me home, Shane." Shane struggled to maintain eye contact. "It was on my way home." No, it wasn't, and Celeste knew this. Unless you consider taking the long route " _on your way_."

"Still, thanks." She jumped at him, giving him a hug of gratitude. Taken aback, Shane stood stiff as a board, not reciprocating the hug. She let go of him and beamed as she nearly whispered, "See you later."

* * *

The next morning, Celeste woke early to head to Marnie's. She knew that Shane would be on his way to work soon and she wanted to catch him early enough to talk about _chickens_.

When she got to Marnie's front door, she knocked three knocks and waited for the plump middle-aged brunette to open the door. She expressed her friendliness in a smile and motioned for Celeste to come inside.

"Good morning, dear! I'm making pancakes, they're Jas's favorite. Would you like some?"

"Yes, please!" Celeste hadn't eaten yet today, and pancakes would mean she wouldn't have to forage her first meal of the day.

Shane woke up in a good mood once again, not as hungover as usual, and grabbed a cup of black coffee before he noticed Celeste sitting there. "Celeste?"

"Hey Shane! I was wondering if you could teach me about chickens!"

"You know I have work today, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. I was planning to walk you to work so we had enough time to chat!" She had that same smile that she always carried when speaking to Shane. He couldn't help but feel like he didn't deserve to witness that smile.

Shane chugged his coffee, grabbed a pancake, and rubbed Jas's head goodbye. "See you all, tonight!"

As the two of them left, Marnie and Jas turned back to look at them, Marnie smiling to herself.

* * *

"So chickens actually learn and respond to their names, so it's a good idea to refer to them that way." Shane was talkative this morning. Other than beer and spicy food, Shane loved chickens. Most people weren't aware of how much he loved animals.

"That's so interesting! What did you name your chickens?" Shane rubbed the scruff on his face before putting his hands back in his jacket pocket. "Charlie. She's my pride and joy."

"I hope to meet Charlie someday," Celeste said excitedly as they approached the doors to Joja Mart. It was nearly 8 AM and Shane's shift was about to start.

"Well thanks, Shane. I appreciate all of the info you've given me. Maybe when I get my chickens, you can come visit them when you're free!" Shane smiled. He wasn't used to using these muscles in his face. Could he ever get used to it?

Celeste leapt forward for another hug before turning around and saying goodbye.

Shane watched her leave, standing outside of the Joja Mart. He watched until she was too far away to be seen. He wasn't aware of how long he had been standing there, but…

_Fuck, I'm late to my shift. Morris will have my head._


	7. Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: suicidal ideation
> 
>  **Chapter playlists set the tone for the chapter.** For each chapter, a list of songs will be displayed to listen to while reading (or reflecting on) the chapter to help with visualizing the story.
> 
> _If you are on desktop, please right-click links to open in new tab to not leave the story page. Songs open in Spotify._
> 
> Mid-chapter: ["Secrets" by The Cure](https://open.spotify.com/track/55oC4vGPFA0QBBooQ2NHHl)

Celeste saw herself spending more time with Leah when she wasn't working in the farm or fishing in the mountain lake. They'd often go to the beach together so Leah could draw, and Celeste could catch some fish or buy some bait from Willy at the seaside shack. Celeste found herself feeling comfortable with Leah and she was glad she was able to make a close friend so early on.

The sea breeze was starting to pick up and cool down the air, the coldness of the wind biting at Celeste's cheeks and sending shivers down her spine.

"Leah, let me walk you home before the storm comes in." Leah graciously got up from the sand, rubbing her pants with her hands, and together they made way past Pelican Town and into the edge of Cindersap Forest where Leah's cottage was.

Once they got to her studio in the woods, Leah looked up at Celeste and said, "It's just under a week away, but I was wondering if you'd like to go to the Flower Dance with me! It's this annual festival we have to commemorate the ending of spring."

Celeste looked up at her and smiled. "I'd love to!"

* * *

The coop was nearly ready, and Celeste couldn't wait to tell Marnie and Shane. She was spending a lot of the evenings in the saloon since she didn't have a kitchen yet, and thus, she spent a lot of time talking to him. It was a Friday evening, and she had plans to hang out with Sebastian and his gang later in the evening, so she headed to the saloon early in hopes of catching Marnie and Shane there.

Shane walked in first. _Like clockwork._ Celeste excitedly marched his way, ready to tell him about how the coop was almost ready and how she planned to buy some chickens tomorrow. She was hoping to get his blessing.

Shane had a forlorn look to his face. She couldn't help but feel like she did something wrong.

He sighed. "...Every day is the same. Stocking those horrible shelves, going to the saloon, tossing and turning all night." Celeste grabbed on to Shane's hands before he could latch on to the pint glass as if it were his lifeline.

"Hey, look at me." He lifted his face to look into those grayish green eyes. "Have you considered doing something with chickens? You're so passionate about that." And she was right. She never saw Shane smile unless he was talking about the chickens or his goddaughter Jasmine. He wanted to. But the grip that Joja Mart had on him was too much; it was stable and funded his self-destructive habit well. However, he had been drinking less lately, spending less money… Something about Celeste being around made him feel like he didn't need to drink as much alcohol to feel drunk.

Once Marnie walked in, Celeste left Shane's side and eagerly went to Marnie to talk about chicken plans.

Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail walked into the saloon in succession. Sam flashed a smile and waived at Celeste. "I'll be right there, guys, I'm just talking to Marnie about something really quick!"

The trio made their way to the arcade room and set up the pool table. They did this every Friday night: Sebastian would beat the forever hopeful Sam at pool while Abigail relaxed on the couch watching them. They would chat over pizza and Joja colas until Gus was about to close and they would head home for the night.

As Sebastian was placing the balls on the table and chalking his pool stick, Sam looked around before leaning into Sebastian and saying, "Dude, I think you should ask Celeste to the Flower Dance. It's next week!" Abigail was sitting close enough to the two of them to hear so she rolled her eyes and groaned lightly.

Sebastian put the pool chalk down, placed his stick upright on the ground, and glared at Sam. The bright blonde grinned and said, "Ok, if you don't then I will…," as he shoved Sebastian's shoulder, causing him to slightly lose his balance.

"Ok dude. Ok." Sebastian looked to make sure Celeste wasn't headed their way quite yet. He lowered his voice and brought his head closer to Sam's. "But who's to say she would even say yes?"

Sam was about to open his mouth when Celeste entered the arcade room. "Hey guys! Ready to play some pool?"

* * *

That night, after Sebastian beat Sam at a game of pool for the 100th time, they all left the saloon as a group, splitting up at the fork when it was Sam's turn. With a quick hug goodbye for Abigail shortly afterwards, Sebastian offered to walk Celeste home so she wouldn't be alone in the dark.

She let out a small laugh. "I can walk myself, Sebastian. I've done it so many times before."

Sebastian got flustered, not know where to go from this. "But the company would be nice," she added when she saw his reaction.

The walk to her farm took another 15 minutes after they said goodbye to Abigail. It was dark along the path and Celeste was using her phone to light the way.

When they got to her doorstep, Celeste turned to Sebastian to thank him for walking her home. "Are we still playing Solarion Chronicles tomorrow?," she found herself saying instead. Sebastian's face lit up, "Of course! It wouldn't be a Saturday night without it."

Celeste smiled and said, "Thanks for walking me home," before giving Sebastian a tight hug. She walked in and closed her door, Sebastian standing there for awhile realizing that he never found the courage to ask her to the dance, and he never thought he would.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was Saturday morning and Celeste was so excited to finally be able to get her chickens! She attended her crops bright and early, leaving quickly to Marnie's so she would arrive just as she opened.

Marnie wasn't attending her shop this morning. Instead, she was in the kitchen, mixing away at a bowl, different ingredients sprawled on the counter and flour on her face. She was humming happily to a tune that Celeste didn't recognize. When Marnie noticed she walked in, she looked at Celeste and delightfully exclaimed, "Oh dear! I'm sorry for running late! It's Shane's birthday and I wanted to make him a special cake."

Celeste smiled. "It's okay, I can come back later."

"Oh no, sweetie. Let me just put this frosting to cool. Give me a moment."

Marnie finished mixing the naturally pink icing, wrapped it in plastic, and placed it in the fridge. A soft pink, strawberry cake sat on the counter, waiting to be decorated.

"Where's Shane?," Celeste heard herself say, while Marnie was finishing up.

"He's in the coop with his chickens. You should go say hello!"

She led Celeste into the coop through the back door of the kitchen where they saw Shane smiling, talking to a white chicken he held tightly in his arms. Celeste thought to herself how she has seen him grin, but never smile.

"Shane, dear! Keep Miss Celeste some company while I clean up the kitchen!" Celeste turned to look at Marnie as she walked back into the house, closing the door after her, before turning to face Shane. His eyes were wide and his cheeks red, his smile had faded.

Celeste made her way to Shane, smiling, before saying, "Happy birthday." He let out a small grin. "Thanks."

Celeste walked around the coop, looking at the chickens, kneeling down in an attempt to stroke the soft feathers of their back, frowning when they darted away from her hand. Shane lowered the chicken in his grip and called for the others, making clicking noises.

She looked up in amazement, seeing what he was doing. All the chickens started running towards Shane as he started laughing, touching them all on their backs.

"They respond to certain calls… and you have to build their trust."

Celeste's eyes lit up. "Please show me, Shane."

They stood there, staring at one another for a moment before Celeste spoke again. "I came to get some chickens from Marnie today. I'd be grateful if you showed me a thing or two."

* * *

Celeste stayed with Shane and his small, non-traditional family for a birthday breakfast, cake and all, before heading back to her farm. Marnie didn't quite have the chickens ready yet for Celeste to take home with her. "They're still in the incubator, but they should be hatching any day now! I'll be sure to have Shane take them over when they do."

The farmer smiled as she headed for the door, giving Marnie a hug as both a thanks and a goodbye. Shane had gone to his room after he was done with breakfast as Celeste sat there chatting with Marnie, so she said before she left, "Tell Shane I said 'happy birthday' once again. I'll see you soon!"

* * *

Saturday nights, Celeste hung out with Sebastian at his place, Sam included, gathered around the small table on the floor playing Solarion Chronicles and getting high. She loved being around those two and felt like they balanced each other out, with Sam's brightness and over-the-top expressions and Sebastian's reserved and cool attitude.

She left a little earlier than usual this week, not wanting it to get too dark before her walk home. "You're leaving already? We just started to have some fun," Sam bickered when Celeste started grabbing her things.

She let out a small laugh and responded, "Sam, I have an early morning tomorrow. I'll see you and Seb tomorrow." She gave both boys a hug and headed for the door at the top of Sebastian's staircase.

Frantically, Sebastian found the courage to finally say, "Celeste! Let me walk you out."

As they made their way out the door of the house, the warm spring breeze started to pick up and drop off, a sign that it wouldn't be too much longer before summer came. The darkness cast a shadow where only Sebastian's pale face was visible in the light of the crescent moon, and the nighttime was left with a stillness that only the sound of frogs croaking can break through. As Sebastian looked at Celeste once she turned after reaching the outdoor air, he left his fringe in his face, covering his right eye as if to hide his expressions.

She leaned in to give the thin man, clad in dark clothing, a final hug goodbye. He lingered, before pulling away. He looked down at the damp soil, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh… Celeste…?"

"Yes?"

"So next week is the annual Flower Dance…."

She waited for him to continue.

"It's, like, a totally lame thing that the mayor loves to throw for the town. It's supposed to commemorate the end of spring or something."

She felt like a tease for letting him continue, but she wasn't sure if it would be worse to cut him off.

"Sam and I were gonna go. Probably Abby, too. We're wondering if you would like to join us?" He stopped playing with his hair as he turned up to look at her.

 _Phew._ She thought she was going to have to let him down. Even though she was only going with Leah as a friend, she wouldn't want to have to stand her up or break Sebastian's heart. She wasn't sure if she was _there_ with him. I mean, she would _like to be t_ here with him, but he was reserved, and seemed to move very slowly with his feelings. She had just moved into this town and was previously _engaged_ …. She didn't think of him as a rebound in any sense of the term, but she still needed time to process her feelings, figure out how she felt for him. She felt drawn to him but didn't want to bring with her the sorrow she was still holding on to. She needed to give herself the time to heal before committing, _no matter how gorgeous she thought he was._

"Hello?" She was standing there in silence for a moment, her mind flooded with thoughts of _how she felt_ , not realizing that he had finished speaking. Sebastian got extremely embarrassed, thinking he might have made a mistake when he extended those words of invitation, unsure of what Celeste was thinking and what she was going to say next. "It would be a friend thing, but like, no pressure. I just thought it would be cool to go as a group, that's all," he said in an effort to recover.

Celeste, realizing that his proposal wasn't romantic after all, sighed as she said, "I'm sorry, Sebastian. I was already going with Leah. But I can meet with you all there, right?"

Cheeks quickly reddening, Sebastian looked away again. He stuck his hands in his jacket pocket.

"Yeah, I'll just see you there." He turned around and headed back inside.

When he got to the cool, dark basement where Sam sat on his bed eagerly waiting, he brushed his hand in the air to "brush off" the conversation, suggesting his failure. Sam's usually unfaltering smile slowly faded.

* * *

The next morning, Celeste was up early. She grabbed her basket and went to her garden, excited to pick the strawberries she had long been waiting for. She had gotten several small plants from Pierre's a couple weeks back and was making sure to spend every morning giving them extra attention and care, speaking kind words of gratitude to them. Strawberries always made her feel at home; it was her mother's favorite fruit and she always made wonderful strawberry pie and strawberry jam in the springtime, so Celeste was so excited to grow her own for the first time.

She missed her mother, and the way she'd light up with joy when the first berries of the season would start to redden.

Excited to get a taste, Celeste pulled one from the plant in the ground and plopped one in her mouth, stem and all. Her senses were overwhelmed with the sweet and juicy joy of a homegrown fruit.

 _Plop!_ Another one went in her mouth.

And another.

And another.

How can something so delicious exist in such a pure form as this? She excitedly pulled the rest of the berries off the plants and put them in her basket to take inside before tending the rest of her crops.

It was mid-morning and she was planning to stop by Marnie's to learn some more about chickens and see if any had hatched yet. She rinsed off her strawberries and put some in a bowl to save for herself for later. _The rest was a gift._

She then hopped into the shower, washing off all the dirt from a rummage on the farm. As the dirt and suds quickly went down the drain, her hair clean and rinsed, she leaped out of the shower and quickly towel-dried her hair before putting it in a messy bun.

She put on her favorite pair of jeans and a plain black top, threw on some mascara and tinted lip balm, and before heading out the door, grabbed the basket of strawberries. As she walked to Marnie's ranch, she skipped as she heard the sounds of birds singing.

When she got to the ranch just south of her grandfather's farmland, she saw her tending to her cows outside.

"Hey Marnie!"

"Miss Celeste, how are you?"

"Great! I brought these strawberries for Shane, as a belated birthday gift. Is he around?" She motioned the basket forwards as if trying to get Marnie to look inside approvingly.

"He should be inside. Go on in, I'll follow you."

Celeste creaked the door open and headed to the kitchen, expecting to find Shane heating up a frozen pizza, _or something._

When she saw he wasn't there, she made her way to the chicken coop, pushing the door slightly to peek inside while calling out for him. "Shane?" _That's…..weird. He wasn't in there._

Her next logical approach was to go knock on his slightly ajar door, and when he didn't verbally respond, she slowly pushed it open to see him on the ground, beer cans surrounding him.

_Good yoba, Shane. It's ten in the fucking morning…._

He wasn't responsive, and she grew apprehensive. Marnie walked into his room and began to panic, wondering if this was just _another_ one of his depressive episodes. Celeste ran into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water, splashing it onto his face.

In a choking cough, he was whipped back to consciousness, moaning and rubbing his head. "Fuck…," he groaned, straining his eyes in the brightness of his room.

He slowly stood up to look at the figures standing above him. Blurry at first, he noticed Marnie and then Celeste, standing right above him. Marnie was furious, her arms crossed across her chest.

"SHANE. What is wrong with you?! All you do is mope around and drink yourself sick!" Shane looked away in disgust, scowling in shame.

"You wouldn't understand," he said with a snarl in his voice.

"What's your plan? You don't ever think of the future?," her tone raising and getting angrier as she continued. She was growing tired of this never-ending cycle of his bad habits.

"Plan?" His voice was also louder this time as he looked up at Marnie, briefly making eye contact with her stern, brown eyes, before looking away forcefully. "Hopefully I won't be around long enough to need a 'plan'…."

Jasmine heard the sounds of what appeared to be almost yelling from her room. She had been walking in right as he said this, hearing the hopeless tone in his voice. She was young, but she understood what he meant, and the perpetual rollercoaster of Shane's emotions was not a secret in this household.

With anguish, Jasmine ran out of Shane's room, as fast as her little legs can take her, sobbing violently on her way out. Marnie glared at Shane, before sighing and running after Jasmine.

"Jas…." He dropped to his knees and began sobbing. "I'm sorry," his voice cracked.

* * *

Celeste waited at the kitchen table, hoping Shane would find the strength to go easy on himself. She heard him pacing away in his room and she knew it was from the guilt he carried from worrying Jasmine.

After about 2 hours, he surfaced from his bedroom, feeling a kind of pain that only a microwave pizza can satiate.

"Shane, I-"

"Don't.

Celeste looked down at her hands on the table, feeling a pang of guilt in her chest. She sighed and fiddled with her thumbs.

The sound of the microwave went off, briefly breaking the awkward silence for a moment. Shane licked his lips as he opened the microwave door, grabbing the hot pizza with his bare fingers before quickly setting it on a plate and licking his fingers to cool them down.

He put the plate on the table and sat across from where Celeste was sitting, ignoring her the entire time.

"I guess I'll get going now, Shane. I'll see you tomorrow?" He didn't look up as she stood, fixing his gaze on the pizza he was about to consume.

She pursed her lips and slowly walked to the door, hoping Shane would call out to her. But he didn't.

And she left.

And the guilt and worry consumed her.


	8. Flower Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Chapter playlists set the tone for the chapter.** For each chapter, a list of songs will be displayed to listen to while reading (or reflecting on) the chapter to help with visualizing the story.
> 
> _If you are on desktop, please right-click links to open in new tab to not leave the story page. Songs open in Spotify._
> 
>   
> [ "Strawberry Blonde" by Mitski](https://open.spotify.com/track/3eGsNpXzcb1BDkfSJI54NY?si=dEu3xSoCSbWoJE5duRIq7w)  
> 

The dreams of Dallas seemed to have subsided, and it's no surprise that this was a relief for Celeste. Painful reminders of what she ran away from were making it impossible to feel rested when she got up each morning.

After an ordinary day of farming, Celeste made her way south past Marnie's ranch towards Leah's cottage. They planned to meet up with Emily for lunch.

Celeste notices Leah's door is unlocked after knocking a couple times, hearing banging from the inside. She slowly opens the heavy wooden door to see the strawberry blonde working away at a wooden sculpture, banging with a hammer and scraping with a knife.

Celeste watched her in silence until Leah put the hammer down for a short break, calling to her attention.

"Oh! Celeste! I didn't hear you walk in!" Leah blushed slightly as she said this. "I was just working on this heavy maple trunk I found the other day in the woods."

She jumped off of her step ladder and walked towards Celeste. "It's a lot of work, but once you get past the outer layers, the true nature starts to show..." Her and Celeste exchanged smiles.

"It's the same with people," Celeste responded, noticing Leah's eyes lit up as she said this.

"Definitely," Leah opened her mouth in a big smile. She made her way towards the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine that she intended to take to Emily's. "Although, I have to admit... It's not easy to pay the bills as an artist."

Celeste knew exactly what Leah meant. Her mother was a struggling artist, so she saw the ins and outs of her grueling over jobs she hated just to make ends meet. Right before moving to Stardew Valley, Celeste was following her very own footsteps…

Leah went to the door and sat on the ground to put on her boots, one by one slipping her feet into them and zipping them up.

"Why don't you have an art show in town?" Celeste was watching Leah very closely to read her reaction. Leah stood up, wine bottle in hand.

"Hmm, here? In Pelican Town? I never thought of this place as being the artsy type. It would be cool if we had an art fair every year…but…. What if nobody likes my art?" Leah frowned, before looking at Celeste to see that she was now frowning. In consolidation, Leah smiled again and said, "I'll think about it. Now, let's go! We don't want to keep Emily waiting!"

* * *

With the Flower Dance just one day away, Emily was busy at work on her sewing machine when Celeste and Leah arrived, knocking on her front door.

Haley answered the door, greeting the two before telling them that Emily was working away in her sewing room.

The blue-haired woman was hemming a white fabric, and on display behind her were several white dresses with puffy sleeves and floral lace sewn on the neckline.

Emily looked up from her machine and bared all her teeth when she smiled, putting her hands up in the air with delight when Leah held up the purple bottle and said, "I have wine!"

After lunch, Emily convinced Celeste to let her make her a dress. When Celeste offered to pay, Emily said that she volunteers to make all the dresses for the dancers every year and that she found great delight in it. "It's great practice for me to better my sewing skills. You should've seen last year's dresses," she laughed.

The evening came quick and Leah and Celeste were ready to go home.

"Let me just do the finishing touches and it will be ready tomorrow," Emily assured them.

The walk home with Leah was a quiet one, still buzzed from the sweet wine that she shared with Emily. Celeste walked Leah to her door, making sure she didn't stumble in the dark. After saying goodbye, she made her way back to her farm, quickly falling asleep that night.

* * *

Tuesday came and went in a flash: normal farming duties. She harvested some of her cauliflower and placed it in her shipping bin for Lewis to pick it up the next morning. After a quick phone call with Marnie, she discovered that her chicks still haven't hatched, so she made her way to the beach where she spent the day fishing and collecting shells.

She avoided the saloon that evening, instead having dinner at Leah's: dandelion greens salad was her specialty. They also shared a pan-fried flounder that Celeste caught earlier that day. Emily stopped by to give Celeste her dress and made sure it fit her correctly. It was perfect. "Absolutely stunning," as Emily described.

The dance couldn't come any sooner.

After heading back home that night, Celeste hung the dress up in her wardrobe, looking through her things for shoes she can wear. A lot of her shoes were muddy and worn out from working on the farm, but she had one pair of flats that she knew would be good enough, even though they didn't quite match.

Celeste texted Leah a final, "Goodnite. See u tmrw," before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Celeste got up early to tend to her crops. She had a burst of energy as she was looking forward to the dance. After placing her crops ready for selling in the shipment bin and picking up the envelope of money Lewis left for her in her mailbox, she ran into the bathroom and took a steamy shower.

When she came out, she started to put on some makeup as her hair dried in the air. She put on some shimmery eyeshadow, mascara, and finished with a light red lip stain. She grabbed her blow-dryer to finish off her hair, before styling it, with half of it up in two braids that met one another in the back center, tying it off and having her soft wave trail down her back.

She went into the bedroom to put on her dress and flats. She remembered the pearl earrings that her mother gave her before she passed away, putting those on as well; simple studs that made her suddenly feel elegant and beautiful.

She was meeting Leah at her place since it was on the way to the dance, where they would walk together to the festival southwest of town just past Cindersap Forest.

Once they got there, they were greeted with exuberant music and a bright atmosphere. Pierre was attending a pop-up shop, selling some rarer seeds and other goods. Shane was standing by the buffet table, filling his plate for the second time. Sebastian and Sam were on the far-left corner, avoiding the crowded parts of the forest.

Leah and Celeste made their way to the buffet table, each grabbing a plate of the delicious food Gus made: a vegetable medley, salad, fried mushrooms, green bean casserole, and fried fish sticks. Leah looked at Celeste and smiled as she headed to sit at a picnic blanket with Elliott, motioning for her to follow. "I'll be right there," Celeste mouthed towards her.

The farmer walked up to Shane, who was eating with his hands while standing by the buffet table. He shoved a couple fried mushrooms in his mouth, acting as if he didn't notice Celeste there.

"Hey Shane, how are you doing?"

"This isn't pizza, but it's free so it'll do," he responded, brushing off Celeste's question entirely.

Celeste then made her way towards Sam and Sebastian, surprised not to see Abigail standing by them. Sebastian was sitting on the ground in a suit, lighting a cigarette and Sam was excitedly eating and drinking some punch. Sam excitedly greeted Celeste, but Sebastian didn't give as much as an acknowledgment that she was there. Celeste, feeling slightly hurt, made her way to where Leah and Elliott were sitting on the ground. She quietly listened to those two talk as she ate her food in silence.

When it was time to dance, Celeste made her way to the center with Leah, hand-in-hand the tall artist guided her. Leah's hair wasn't in her usual braid; she had curled it and placed it up in a bun, some curly strands falling on to her pale, freckled shoulders. She didn't wear any makeup though, as she didn't need any. She had a natural beauty that makeup would take away from.

The dance began, and Leah embraced Celeste, taking on the male role in the dance. It was funny to see Leah being the only one in a dress on that side, but when the music began, there was so much excitement and movement, that edges blurred, and it no longer seemed odd.

Leah twirled Celeste and brought her close, whispering to her, "You are definitely the most beautiful dancer here today," before blushing and letting her go, Celeste spinning in a circle and coming to a stop. Their dance continued in succession, following the pattern of moves all the other dancers had rehearsed. Although Celeste didn't know how to dance and wasn't sure what to do, Leah was a great and confident leader, making her feel confident during the ceremony.

After the festival, everyone played games and ate some more, laughing the day away. Live music filled the air and the scene was slowly winding down. As the sun started to set, people started to leave the forest and make their ways back to Pelican town.

Celeste walked Leah home, lifting her dress along the way to make it easier to walk in. She wasn't used to wearing dresses, and from the looks of Leah fumbling as she walked, it appeared she wasn't either.

When they got to Leah's front door, she turned to Celeste and said, "That was fun." Her eyes glimmered as the golden sunset hit her face. Celeste was smiling in agreement, happy that she agreed to attend with someone as patient and nurturing as Leah. She never made Celeste feel judged while being her dance partner, even when Celeste stepped on her feet a few times and fell to her ass twice.

Leah was staring at Celeste's lips in silence before she started to close the gap between them. Celeste felt the breath of Leah's mouth on her own, the warmth causing her to feel a tingle run down her spine. As their lips touched, Celeste opened her mouth and using it to grab on to Leah's upper lip, slightly sucking as Leah pulled away, smiling, realizing that Celeste had reciprocated the kiss.

Celeste felt Leah place her hand to her face, and she stared into her hazel eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow, Celie."


End file.
